A Second Chance
by songbird1313
Summary: Sometimes, people just deserve a second chance at life. Follow as Carol, Daryl, and Merle struggle to make the best of the second chances they were given. M for language and smut. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first Walking Dead FanFic so go easy please! Set just after findind Sophia in the barn.

Chapter:1

Carol had been watching as the whole thing unfolded. She felt sick to her stomach as she watched Shane working to open the barn. The others nevously held their guns not sure what to do. Maggie and Beth were gripping onto Hershal with all their might, tears pouring down their face. Glenn stood behind Maggie until the walkers finally were free, looking to her for conformation, he ran to the aid of his family when she simly gave him a heartbroken nod. Andrea, Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and T-Dog stood weapons at the ready as atleast 20 or so walkers came pouring out of the barn. Carol looked around at the chaos, Lori stood back craddling Carl, Rick stood watching with the walker still on the metal leash, and the Greene family watched as the horror unfolded. She felt sick to her stomach, walkers were a danger to them all but Shane had no right. Shots rung out as walker after walker poured out of the barn. Seemingly, as the last one fell, Shane turned and shot the one Rick was holding on to. Silence rang as the Greene family's sorrows filled the air. Her family was about to turn around when it happened. They heard the soft growling and shuffeling as the last walker drug itself out of the barn.

All the air left Carols lungs as she watched her little girl limp out of the barn. "SOPHIA!" She screamed and tried to run to her walker daughter, all consious thoughts vacating her brain. Two strong arms wrapped around her waist, holding her back as she tried to get to Sophia. She clawed, screamed, and kicked trying to get away, but she was drug to the ground by her captor as he tried to comfort her. She cried as she watched Rick, the only one who stepped foward as he put a bullet through her brain. The person holding her was trying to calm her down, stroking her hair and whispering calming things in her ear. Finally she had enough, she finally got free of whoever had been holding her and took off running.

Once she got to the RV, she tore the door open and threw herself inside. Screams of agony tore through her as the sceen played in her head again. Her baby girl, with those milky, lifeless eyes, pale dirty skin, and a large bite on her where neck meets shoulder. She wailed louder and curled into herself as it just kept going and going. She wished she were dead, how could she live in this world without the only thing precious to her? She thought and hoped and prayed Daryl would be right, that Sophia would come home, tired and hungry, but safe. She cried herself to sleep that night, and everynight after that, until the farm got overun and they were forced off and back on the run.

A/N: I know this is short, and rough, but I don't have spell check or anything like that, feel free to leave comments for critisism, ideas, and mistakes I made! Thanks!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The first chapter was more of a prologue. About 500 words or so.

Forgot the Disclaimer! I do not own anything!

Chapter: 2

It had been a few weeks since the farm got overrun and the group took to moving camp every day or so as to not be in one spot for long. Rick had come up with a buddy system to keep everyone safe, meaning where ever you went, your partner was right there with you. The pairs were as following: Lori and Rick, Hershel and Beth, Glenn and Maggie, T-Dog and Carl, and Daryl and Carol. They had lost several people that fateful night including Dale, Andrea, Patricia, Jimmy, and Shane.

Carol sat huddled by the fire, trying to warm her small frame, it was now probably around October and the nights were getting very chilly. They scavenged almost everyday but it seemed almost everywhere they went, it was pretty well picked clean. The group morale was very low as was medical supplies, food, water, and blankets. Carol sighed, she had been struggling with her depression since they found Sophia in the barn and today was one of those days she just felt like giving up. She looked around at their small camp. They had stopped off the road by a small creek just inside the woods. She kept up her observations, Daryl and T-Dog were on watch while everyone else slept on the cold hard ground.

She stood up silently and dusted herself off, she had to pee. Daryl and T-Dog both had their backs to her and she didn't feel like distracting them so she set off as quietly as she could towards the stream to relieve herself. She had just finished up when she heard the soft growls and tall tale shuffling of a walker. She turned around just as it lunged for her. The walker had once been a large man and easily knocked her off balance and she landed hard on the ground. She put her hands up in defense just as the rotted face came snapping at her neck. She fought as hard as she could too terrified to even scream. This was it, this was her ending, just like her Sophia. Tears streamed down her face as the decaying teeth came closer and closer with each snap.

The jaws of the walker were about 2 inches from its target when and arrow came whizzing out of nowhere straight through the walker's eye socket. The corpse collapsed on top of her, nearly crushing her with its weight. She let out a muffled sob as the thing was ripped off of her seconds after it was shot. She was met with the face of a very angry Dixon man and pissed off T-Dog.

"What the hell were ya thinking woman? Going off by yerself like that? Do you realize how close ya just came to dyin'? Christ woman! Do ya have a fuckin' death wish or something, cuz tell me now and I won't fuckin' bother next time!" Daryl was beyond pissed. Why? He didn't know, or at least care to admit that the woman on the ground at his feet meant a little more to him than the rest of the group. He roughly grabbed her arm and hauled her to her feet. Still holding her arm, he raised his hand to run through his hair until he watched her noticeably flinch. "Jesus woman I'm not gonna fuckin' hit ya!" He dropped her arm and stormed off back towards the camp.

Carol hugged herself and started back to the camp when T-Dog stopped her. She had forgotten he was even there. "Ya know, he's right Carol, why didn't you get one of us to come with you or just even watch the area you were goin' to? You scared the bajesus outta him. He went to wake Rick and Glenn for their shifts when he noticed you were gone. Man, you shoulda seen the look on his face, don't tell him I said, but I thought he was gonna have a damn meltdown or something. You know he cares a lot for ya right? It's obvious to everyone but you two." T-Dog shook his head and nudged her back to the camp, he didn't want Daryl to come back here and kick his ass for keeping Carol in the woods longer than need be.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think anything would happen, I just had to pee and wanted a little privacy." Carol replied in a meek voice, one she often used when in the presence of Ed. God you stupid bitch, always so God damn helpless, couldn't keep our daughter safe, let alone your won stupid self. Just a worthless, burden to everyone! Even dead, he husband still put her down, she hung her head in shame, and made a beeline straight for her sleeping area. She toed off her boots and curled up in a little ball. Exhaustion finally took her and she drifted off in an uneasy sleep plagued with nightmares.

The next morning, everyone did their usual routine and scurried, picking up their belongings and packed them in the cars they still had. As everything was done, the group loaded up and was on their way. Daryl of course on the bike, Carol behind him clinging to dear life, Rick, Lori, and Carl in the car behind them, Beth and Hershal in a truck behind them, and T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie bringing up the rear in another truck. They stopped several hours later at traffic jam stuck in time. They needed supplies. Bad. Carol and Daryl took off opposite everyone else so they could get more ground covered. They stopped at a large SUV. Daryl motioned for her to stop as he held up his crossbow ready to kill anything before it had a fighting chance. He yanked the door open and a rotted cadaver fell out. He waited to see if it was a reanimated one, but it was just a lifeless corpse.

Deeming it safe he allowed Carol passed him to check it for any usable supplies while he got to work siphoning the gas. Carol stepped over the fallen corpse and began rummaging through the SUV. She had a large duffle bag sitting on the seat while she looked. By the time she was done she had found a large quantity of canned goods, a couple of hand guns, ammo, several bottles of antibiotics, painkillers, and a general first aid kit. She was about to leave when a small glint caught her eye. She reached on the other side of the passenger seat and pulled up a large buck knife. As soon as she seen it, a flash back of last pushed itself into her head. She took it and the belt it came with and strapped it around her waist tight enough to stay put, but not tight enough to hurt.

She bounded around the SUV to see Daryl standing by the bike waiting for her. She had a triumphant smile on her face as their good fortune. It soon fell at the glare he held on his face. He pushed off the bike and made his way to her quickly. "The fuck is this Carol?" He forcefully pointed at the knife strapped to her hip.

She looked at him nervously." I was hoping you could teach me how to defend myself, especially after last night. I'm tired of being a burden on everyone and not being able to even defend myself, let alone our group."

He let out an aggravated sigh and ran a hand over his tired face. "Woman, ya ain't no burden to no one. The hell told ya that?" The downcast look on her face told him everything he needed to know. That no good dead husband of hers Ed. He had heard them at the quarry. He was always putting Carol down, and when words didn't appease him, then the beating started. It always took all his will power not to get involved, that and Merle. "Fine, but I ain't goin' easy on ya. It'll be hard, and ya prolly end up hurt, more than once." Carol looked at him and beamed.

"I don't care what it takes, I want to learn. I'm tired of being weak. Maybe if I hadn't been so weak Sophia would still be here." He nodded and they got on the bike and sped off towards their meeting spot. Carol felt a lot better than she had since before Sophia went missing.

A/N: I wanted to thank you for the reviews and laugh at myself for putting the story in the wrong category. LOL. Let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Oh my gosh! I can't thank you guys enough for all the follows on this story! It encourages me so much to continue it! I don't know how offer I'll be updating, my neighbor and I share internet and theirs has been a bit off so just bear with me. I will continue writing chapters and post them when I get a chance! Much love. Here is chapter 3.

Chapter: 3

As their small caravan continued on their path, a quick short honk sounded behind Daryl and Carol on the bike. Daryl pulled off to the side and shut off the engine. He waited as Carol slowly untangled herself from him and the bike, steadying herself as she almost lost her footing. Together they walked back towards the group to see what was going on.

"We need to set up camp for the night, the way I see it, we've got about 2 hours of daylight left and we need that to make sure everything is set up." Rick looked around at the group, waiting for any disapproval of his idea. He was met with small unsure nods from everyone. " Ok good, Daryl and I will take a look around to determine which spot is best for now. Everyone else just sit tight and keep watch." With that he motioned to Daryl and the two wandered off into the woods.

Carol watched the two retreating backs with a sigh. He had agreed this morning to teach her how to fight and defend herself this morning, but when he agreed he didn't sound to happy about it. She walked back to the bike to sit and wait for the men to return. She had her back away from the group, trying to make herself feel useful by keeping watch of the road ahead. She almost didn't her soft growl that the woods emitted. Instinctively she withdrew the blade from her hip and whirled around, there were at least a dozen walkers making their way to the group. She let out a small yelp when one came from her blind side and grabbed her shoulder. Without even thinking about it, she gripped the handle of the large knife and brought it full force into the things rotted skull. With a sick squelch, it dropped at her feet. She quickly put her booted foot on the head and yanked with all her might to release her knife. Looking around she realized that the group had been alerted to their presence by her yelp.

She pushed her fear aside and went to join the group as they battled the walkers. Lori had been resting in the truck when the chaos began and had woken up to the battle just beyond her small sanctuary. Her eyes were wide as saucers when she noticed Carl was not in the vehicle with her anymore. Just as Carol got to the group, she saw two walkers quickly advancing on an unarmed, terrified Carl and her little Sophia's face presented itself in her mind. With a new boost of adrenaline, she stalked like a mother lion to the two undead fiends. She made quick work of the first one, who had looked like she had once been a teenager. The second one, well he was a lot bigger than her. He stood at least 6'5 and looked as though he weighed a ton. She didn't let his size deter her though, she was not letting what happened to her angle happen to this sweet boy in front of her.

All the pent up grief and frustration that had been building up was let out in an inhumane scream as she leapt nimbly on the large walkers back and drove her knife though the top of its skull. As soon as she pulled the knife out, the thing fell. Hard. It landed face first on the ground with a sickening crunch as the road smashed its face. Carol got up off the ground and stalked to where it lay and began stomping viciously on the back of its head, making it eat the concrete as the back of it head quickly became a soupy mess of bone fragments, brain, and blood. She didn't realize she was crying 'til she could no longer see. It didn't stop her from taking out all her emotions on the dead son of a bitch though. She would have kept going if the same strong arms that had saved her from running to her daughter that day on the farm had not picked her up and buried her in his chest.

Daryl and Rick had come running out of the woods when they heard Carol scream. When they finally arrived at the scene, there were two walkers left and Daryl was lining up his shot when Rick stopped him. "Watch."

"Come on man! I am not letting what happened to Sophia happen to Carl!" He lined up the shot again when Rick stopped him once again. Daryl let out an angry breath ready to hit Rick when he heard the most heart breaking scream and saw a flurry or activity. He watched as Carol cleanly shoved the buck knife she found this morning through the base of the small one skull and ripped it back out. The look on her face could even scare Merle right not. She then did something no one expected. She jumped on the damn walker's back! Did this woman really have a death wish! The pair stood and watched as she gripped the handle with both hands and brought it down with a nasty crunch in the middle of its head. She quickly retrieved her knife and jumped back off the thing before going back to it as soon as it fell its last death to the ground.

Daryl's chest tightened as he watched the small angry woman in front of him brutally smash her foot repeatedly into the back of its head, tears streaming down her face the entire time. When no one moved to stop the obvious break down in front of them, Daryl swore under his breath as he replaced his crossbow on the hood of the car nearest him and started to where Carol was have an emotional break down. "Som' bitch. Can't no one see the damn woman needs help. Bastards dead already." He picked Carol up by her waist and turned her around and allowed her to bury her head in his chest and cry her eyes out. He Gently lowered them to the ground and cradled her in his lap.

He hugged the frail woman to him not knowing what else to do. He wasn't any good at this shit! Maggie or Beth or hell, even Lori should be comforting her not him, anyone but him. He wasn't much on physical contact, much less trying to help someone through a break down. After a few minutes, Daryl heard her crying soften and eventually stop. The rest of the group had already moved most everything to the spot he and Rick had scouted not too long ago. Deciding it was best to get up off the highway and into the secluded area, he picked Carol up bridal style and noticed the reason her cries had stopped. She was fast asleep in his arms. He felt a small grin gently tugging on the corners of his mouth but he fought the urge to do so.

As soon as he got to camp, he laid Carol down on his bedroll and went to stand up to go talk to Rick when her hand shot out and gripped his shirt. He looked at her face and she was still asleep but had a very troubled look on her face. She started shaking and big fat tears started leaking from her eyes once more. "Oh Sophia! No. No. Not my Sophia no." She whimpered the last part and it was all Daryl could do to push his own grief at not finding the little girl to the back of his mind. He was about to flag one of the other girls down to take of her but stopped in his tracks when she started talking in her sleep again. "No, no, no! Daryl NO! Please... Can't... No you can't.. Jus can't leave... Need you.. No.." He thought for sure he was going to keel over right then. She was dreaming about him? More over, she was scared he was leaving? Where did she get that silly idea from. He sighed and resigned his fate to being her keeper once again.

He'd never admit it out loud, hell, he even had a problem admitting it to himself inside his head! But he loved caring after her, protecting her, making sure she was safe, he just wasn't any good at it. He let a quick whistle out and got Rick's attention. He made his way over to the hunter and exhausted woman and crouched down. "Um... She done grabbed ahold o' me and won' lemme up." To demonstrate his point, he once again tried standing to only be yanked down by the small, yet powerful woman. He shrugged his shoulders and ran a hand through his dirty hair.

"Don't wanna wake her, go ahead an' take the night off for now and stay with her. She needs her rest, she hasn't slept more 'n 3 hours atta time since Sophia went missin', she needs it. And so do you, I'll send someone for you if I need anything." He looked like he was going to reach out and pat Daryl on the shoulder but thought better of it, knowing how the man pretty near despised physical contact, and stood up and left to let the others know what was going on.

"Might as well get fuckin' comfy, gonna be in fer a long one." Daryl nestled a spot in the leaves and sticks by Carol, making sure he didn't get too far away for fear of waking her. As soon as he laid down, it was a matter of minutes before his heavy eyelids got the better of him and he was off to another kind of hell. One with no undead, but one with beatings, and whippings and many other horrors no child should have to go through.

`A/N: Ok so my chapters are gradually getting longer! Yay! I would appreciate if I have any grammatical errors or spelling errors if y'all would let me know. I am loving how many followings and reads I'm getting! I've tried my hand at Harry Potter FF but I think this will be my forte! Let me know what you guys think! 333


	4. Chapter 4

A/N:Ugh so this is the second time I've had to do this chapter. Here it is, enjoy.

Chapter: 4

The cool fall breeze on her face woke Carol. Yesterday's events started to flood her mind and she went to stretch when she realized there was a hand splayed on her flat stomach holding her to a strong chiseled body behind her. She looked down at the familiar hand and felt a blush rise to her cheeks. It was Daryl behind her. Holding her. She knew it was wrong, but she wiggled a little bit back into his warm embrace. She had and attraction for the sexy hunter since the group had banded together back at the quarry about a year ago. There was something about the mean tempered man, even back then, that drew her to him. She sighed and was about to get up when one of his hand moved from her stomach to her breast and began kneading it. Oh Gods that feels so good! It took everything in Carol to not arch her back and moan vey loudly. There was just a thin piece of material separating his hand from her bare beast and she could feel her nipples start to stiffen.

Apparently he felt it too because he then took her nipple in between his thump and forefinger and began rolling, pulling, and tweaking it. She knew it was wrong, he was most likely asleep, he wouldn't ever look her way otherwise, but it felt so damn good! She had never felt this way before. Liquid fire began in the pit of her belly begging to come out. By now were underwear was drenched. She had never been so aroused before. Even before things turned south in her and Ed's relationship. He hands felt like magic on her body, turning her into putty. All rational thought flew out of her mind as he began working on her other breast. She was wound tight and felt like she would explode any second. Her breath was now coming out in short bursts as she tried to keep herself quiet and still. She knew she was tense, but if she relaxed, she would lose complete control of her body.

Daryl was having the most vivid, life like dream he had ever experienced in his entire life. He was laying behind Carol and she had pushed her ass into his crotch and he instantly became aroused. He moved his hand from her stomach where it lay to her perfect mounds and began cupping them and feeling them. Knowing if he were awake, he would never have a chance to ever do this. If the past was anything to go by, no woman wanted a dumb redneck. Merle had teased him restlessly about being a virgin. He had tried once, when he was 18, Merle had brought home one of the bar whores for him. They got as far as her taking off his pants before he pushed her away and bolted from the room. Fag. That's what Merle had called him. After that he just kept to himself, avoiding woman.

She was so soft and supple beneath his rough, calloused hands, fucking perfect. He ground his erection into her back and moaned deep in his throat. This woman, she was going to be the God damned death of him. He moved his hand to her other breast and began working on that one. He heard her breathing quicken into short pants and her body stiffen. His eyes shot open. This was not a dream! Oh no! What kind of animal was he? Just like that pig of a man her husband was, always taking from her, using her anyway he saw fit. He was just like that bastard in this moment.

Daryl shot off the ground, pulled on his shoes and crossbow and was off tearing through the woods in the next second. He couldn't face her right now, couldn't take her disappointment in him. She had trusted him, trusted him to keep her safe and he goes and does something like that! He slowed his pace and sat behind a tree, wishing for the earth to swallow him up whole. He couldn't take the shame and humiliation he was feeling. He glared down at the bulge in his pants. All his fucking fault. He heard a twig snap behind him and he jumped up quickly and had his crossbow off in an instant, aimed where he heard the sound come from.

Carol came out from behind a tree, her hands raised in attempt to soothe him, she meant no harm. "Daryl." All she said was his name and he could barely look at her, afraid to see the anger he knew to be there. She gently stepped forward and placed her hand on his cheek. He tried to pull away, but she placed her other one on the other cheek and held him fast."It's ok, I'm not mad. I know you were sleeping. I know I'm not the type of woman you'd wanna be with." Having said her peace, she turned to leave when he reached out for her.

He couldn't stand that she viewed herself that way. But he knew it was of no fault of her own. Daryl had heard the way her worthless husband had talked to her. Ugly, worthless, whore, stupid. It made him shake with rage when he thought about it. She was the complete opposite of that. All he could do was shake his head at her. The words were stuck in his throat, refusing to come out. It was almost painful. He just pulled her to him and hugged her tightly. He was never one for touching let alone displays of affection, but with the woman wrapped in his arms, it was always a losing battle. She could probably tell him to run into a herd of geeks and he'd fucking do it. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and stepped out of the embrace. "Come on, we gotta get ya back to camp 'for the others comma lookin' for ya. I gotta hunt." He grabbed her hand in his and together they made the small trek back to camp. They made it back as everyone was starting to stir, besides Glenn and Maggie who were already up on watch.

As soon as they hit the line of trees surrounding the small clearing they had claimed for the night, he let go of her hand. She turned and nodded at him as he turned to go back into the woods. He lifted the corner of his mouth in a small half smile for her and took off. Carol made herself busy with scrounging up something for breakfast and looking through their supplies. Their find yesterday had been one of the best they had come across since they left the farm all those weeks ago. She decided on oatmeal. There were only 4 packets but she added 2 cans of peaches to it and it was enough for everyone. She made sure to put a little aside for Daryl for when he got back from his hunt. They were going to be in the clearing for at least another day so she decided she would go look for some fire wood so she could cook whatever Daryl managed to bring back.

She had just stood up when she felt someone behind her. She turned around and came face to chest with T-Dog. She smiled at him, "Hello T-Dog. Can I help you with anything?"

He returned the smile. "No, but where you 'bout to head off to?"

"I was just on my way to get some fire wood."

"By yourself, girl I don't think so, Daryl would skin us alive if he knew we let you go off alone again. Come on I'll go with you." Before she had time to argue, he was already heading to the woods. So she simply shrugged and followed suit.

A/N: So This probably a bad spot to end this chapter, I could probably make it longer, but I am just so frustrated that I had to do basically the whole thing over again, I like parts of this one better, but overall I liked the first one better... Grr.. But here it is. The next chapter should be where the M rating comes in. Please review! Much love!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This next chapter will take place several months into the future, basically picking up where season 3 starts. Daryl and Carol have been training her with the knife she had found, alond with a few other weapons. Well, here ya go!

Chapter: 4

The past couple months had passed at a snails speed consisting of moving, cooking, scavenging, and for Carol, training. She was now pretty good with the buck knife she had found and was working on hand to hand combat now. Daryl had showed her how to shoot a gun, she was an ok shot, but she was better with her knife. They needed to find somewhere where they could hold up for the winter and Lori could have her baby, by Carol's guess, she was probably around 8 months or so. They definitly needed somewhere. Fast. Her and Daryl had moved on from the awkward morning and had quickly become close. They were near shadows of each other.

This particular day, they were working on hand to hand out in the woods. He had knocked her to the ground roughly and pinned her to the ground. He was inbetween her legs and held her arms above her head with one hand. He held his face close to hers,"What do ya do in a situation like this? In this world, women are in far more danger than men, there were sick men 'fore the world went to shit. It's much worse now." She tried to wiggle away but only succeded in arousing them both. She tried again and began panting. He was the wrong person to do this, she already held and attraction for him, and she knew he would never hurt her.

He stilled above her, feeling her warm core grind against his lower half and he let out a soft groan. This was not the time for his pent up hormones to take charge. He looked at her beneath him and had to close his eyes to try and keep control. "Yer not gonna discourage a man that way. Complete opposite actually." He opened his eyes to look at her again. He could see the lust in her eyes. He lost it then and crashed his lips to hers. She yanked her hands out of his grasp and tangled them in his hair. His hand went to her waist and hoisted her up so she was sitting on his lap. He attacked her lips feverishly with his own, and she returned it greedily.

His hands had somehow found their way under her shirt and were gripping her sides tightly. She could feel his arousal pressing against her apex and moaned softly. Hearing her moan just about brought him to the edge like the inexperianced man he was. He trailed kisses from her lips down her jaw line to her neck, then the junction where neck met shoulder and suckled there. She arched her back and moaned again. This was heaven. She needed more, she wanted to feel him pressed against her. She began unbuttoning his shirt. She was pushing it off his shoulders by the time he realized what she was doing. He tried to stop her but she was having none of it.

She drug his lips back to hers with a small tug of his hair. When she began raking her nails across his back, that was his undoing. He tugged her shirt over her head and sat back to admire her. She had an amazing body. Her skin was soft and supple and smooth. She had scars just like he had. On her back, sides, legs, and stomach. He began tracing them delicatly with his fingers. "Perfect." That was all he murmured before she had pulled him back to her. She had never felt this alive. Never this passionate. She and Ed had marrried only because she had fallen pregnant with Sophia when she was 16. The years of abuse and stress had made Carol's hair grey, not age. She was actually only 28, just 5 years younger that Daryl. Married to that bastard for 11, he had managed to mostly snuff out the fire cracker that was Carol. Being with Daryl, the fuse was lit and brighter than ever, growing closer and closer to a mighty explosion.

Her hands found his button on his jeans and worked quickly on undoing them. Daryl's hand found hers and stopped them, looking at her with a question in his eye. "Yes, oh God yes." Was all she said and he removed his hands. They had both managed to remove each others remaining clothes and now he lay on the ground beneath her. It was her turn to look at him questionly as he had stopped her one more time.

"Um.. I have something I need to tell ya. I'm jus' not sure how." She nodded encouragingly. "I haven't exactly.. I've never.. Um.. Shit." She placed a finger over his lips to stop him from stumbling over any more words and smiled. He was was about to get angry, thinking she was laughing at him when she spoke.

"Its ok, we'll go slow." She began kissing him again. While she did this, her hand had found his impressive length and began stroking it. His breath caught in his throat at the sensation she envoked in him. He wasn't going to last long at this rate. He had tried to stop her at no avail and his hot seed spurted out all over her hand and his stomach. He grunted into her mouth and felt his cheeks heat in embarassment. He didn't even make it into her before making a fool of himself. But she wasn't done yet, far from it actually. She lay on top of him gently kissing him while he got his body back under control.

When his breathing slowed, she began kissing his neck. Nipping and biting at the sensative skin. She could feel him growing hard again at her menstrations and stoked him again a few times for good measure. She grabbed ahold of him at the base and lined him up at her entrance. She pused the tip inside and slowly let him fill her. It was the most mind blowing experiance of her life. Once he was in to the hilt, she stilled for a moment letting both of their bodies adjust. She raised up so she was sitting fully erect on him and gently smiled down on him. She carefully raised up so he was barely inside her and slamed down on him again. She both let out loud groans of pleasure.

He couldn't believe this was happening. She was so wet and soft around him and he knew this was heaven on earth. She started moving at a steady pace on top of him and he watched as she threw her head back in ecstasy. He moved his hands from where they lay on her waist further up, barely brushing the bottom swell of her breast. He didn't know if this was ok so he was about to move them back down when she moved them on her breast fully. He ran a thumb over her taught nipple and listened as her moans increased. Remembering that morning, he mimicked the movements with both his hands. He could feel her walls start to flutter and her body began quaking. He grew bolder with his moves and reached between them and rubbed her swollen nub with his thumb.

Stars explodded behind her eyes at the action and for the very first time, Carol Peletier came because of a man. She hadn't realize how loud she had been moaning but she didn't care either. She felt Daryl tense up underneath her as she road out her orgasm and felt as he came inside her. It was the singular most wonder moment of his life and Daryl thought he just might die from it. He actually thought he did when everything around him went black for a moment. When he came to, Carol was slumped on top of him with her head resting on his shoulder, breathing heavy against his neck. He absently rubbed her back and listened as their breathing became normal. They slowly got dressed without a word and headed back to camp. That was enough training for today.

A/N: So let me know what you think! I usaully don't do smut scenes so if its horrible I'm sorry! Much love and please review!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for all the encouraging reviews! I wasn't too sure about the last chapter but I feel a lot better about it.:-) Here is your next chapter!

Chapter: 6

Three days after Carol and Daryl's escapade in the woods, Rick and Daryl stumbled upon the prison nestled deep in the woods. As they worked clearing it out, Daryl's mind kept going back to the time him and Carol had spent in the woods. It could never happen again, he knew that, he just hoped she did too. They hadn't really had a chance to speak privately since then so he was hoping they would soon, although he was dreading, he needed to make sure they were on the same page. Carol was strong woman and she didn't need him. Not anymore. He had finally been able to admit to himself over the past couple days that he did have feeling for the woman, more than he ever thought possible. It wasn't quit love, but he knew if he didn't distance himself from her, it would be. He just could not let that happen.

They had cleared a cellblock, the courtyard, the showers, and the cafeteria in about six hours. They had began moving the bodies from inside out, so they could at least have somewhere to sleep for the night. Carol had ended up rooming with Lori, as her and Rick weren't exactly on the best terms anymore. Carol walked out of their cell to see who was rooming with who. Of course Glenn and Maggie, Hershal and Beth, her and Lori, T-Dog and Carl, Rick was by himself, and Daryl refused to sleep in a cage, so he drug one of the single beds from a cell to the perch above everyone. Carol took a deep breath and made her way up there. They needed to talk, she wanted to see where she stood with him and they hadn't been able to talk since that day. Her belly tightened in anticipation and her nether regions tingled slightly at the memory but she pushed it aside, she needed a clear head for this upcoming conversation.

As she got to the top of the stairs, he had his back to her cleaning his crossbow. She cleared her throat to get his attention and he jumped about a foot in the air. She didn't even try to stifle her laughter, she was entirely too nervous.

"Christ! Ya tryin' to give me a fuckin' heart attack 'er what?" He growled at her. He had a feeling he knew what she came up here for so before she could even say anything he cut in. "I know why yer here. It can't happen again, it was a moment of weakness on both our parts."

"So you're sayin' it was a mistake then." Carol felt the tears in the back of her eyes but she refused to let them fall in front of him. She watched as he simply lowered his head and nodded. "I see, fine then, I'm sorry for being such a bother to you." She hated how her voice quivered at the end. She turned and fled down the stairs.

It had been a week since Daryl had shut Carol down. She had become quiet and withdrawn from the group again. Barely speaking to anyone and just going through the motions. Everyone had been outside as it was a rare beautiful day. Carol was hanging laundry to dry when everything went to shit. She had been hanging the last shirt when Lori let out a blood curling scream. Carol turned around and seen the object of Lori's fright. The courtyard was filled with walkers. She was about to run to the woman's aid when she was cut off by about 6 walkers. She took off running the other was and caught up with T-Dog. She heard the screaming and chaos all around her and memories of Sophia had her feeling helpless all over again.

T-Dog grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her out of her stupor and towards one of the doors inside. A walker came out of nowhere and took a large chunk out of his shoulder and he howled in pain before stabbing the thing in the head. He ushered Carol inside and tried to shut the door. They ran down long winding hallways and stopped to catch their breath. Snarling to their left caught their attention and they began running again. They came at a three way in the labyrinth and had walkers at two of the ways. Carol was quickly becoming winded and knew she was done for.

"Carol, I'll distract them and you run. I'm already done for and this is your last chance to get to safety. Go! Now!" He shoved her to the clear hallway and threw himself at the herd of walkers. Carol began crying as she watched her friend being torn apart. She pushed herself forward and stumbled along the hall. She was cut off by two walkers and took out the first one and turned to jam her knife into the second. She had lodged it in sideways and it was stuck in the rotted skull. She took off running again. She came upon a breach in the wall and climbed over the rubble and through a break in the fence. She looked back and felt her heart stop as about 20 or so walkers were spilling out after her. She turned back to the woods and used the last of her energy to keep running deeper into the woods and further away from the prison, further away from Daryl.

Carol stopped behind a tree and gasped for breath. She had been running for awhile now and her whole body felt like jelly. She heard shuffling and looked up to see a couple of walkers making their way to her. She had no energy left to run and nothing to defend herself with. She looked up and realized there were a couple of lower branches she could heave herself onto and be out of their reach. With a renewed vigor, she set to work climbing the tree. She found a fork in the branches about 15 foot up and settled herself in, hoping against all odds she didn't fall out or her group would come looking for her soon.

She had been in the tree nearly 4 hours now and the sun was starting to set. The walkers had been relentlessly been clawing at the tree and Carol had fought to keep her eyes open. She looked around for anything to distract them and almost came up empty handed when an idea struck her in the form of a pine cone. She looked up after the thing fell in her hand and watched as a squirrel chittered angrily above her. She quickly scraped her hand on the bark of the tree and watched as blood pooled in her palm. The smell must of hit the walkers as they became restless again. She grasped the pinecone and made sure it was saturated with her blood before she threw it as far as she could. At first she thought it didn't work then all of a sudden, the last few walkers at the base of the tree began wondering to where the pinecone had fallen.

She waited about ten minutes to make sure they weren't coming back before make a slow descent to the ground. She was almost there when she grabbed a rotted branch and with a resounding crack, she fell the last few feet to the ground. She had hit her head on the hard ground and her vision swam. She tried focusing on anything to keep from passing out but it was very hard. She heard rustling in the leaves and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She tried with all her might to pull herself up but anytime she moved her head, she became dizzy. She heard a growl and a hand on the front of her shirt pulling up. She started screaming, kicking, and flailing, anything to get free when the thing spoke.

"Well I'll be damned! Little mouse! Give ol' Merle a hug!" Merle chuckled and stopped when he noticed her head bleeding from the back. "Shit, don' go to sleep on me now lil' lady." Carol could barely keep her eyes open but nodded. She heard more male voices and started to panic. Merle got real close to her ear and whispered, "What ever I say, play along." She weakly nodded again.

"Well hot damn Merle, look at that pretty lil' thing. Where ya fin' her?" One of the men came up by Merle who was now cradling Carol in his arms. At Merle's growl, he stepped back. "Whoa now calm down big man."

"Don' ya be lookin' at 'er like that, this 'ere is my ol' lady I was tellin' ya about." He tightened his grip on Carol to make sure she understood she had to play along now. When she didn't protest, the man looked between them. "We got separated back in Atlanta." A few more guys now stood around them. One of them spoke up.

"I though' ya said she were a blonde?"

"You callin' me a liar?" He knew they were starting to doubt him. Suddenly, Carol's arms flew around his neck and she buried her face in his neck. He stilled at this not knowing what to do.

"Oh my God Merle it is you! I thought I was dead for sure, but here you are! Oh I missed you so much!" Her shoulders started shaking as she let the tears leak from her eyes. She pulled her face from his neck and planted a kiss straight on his lips. Merle's eyes opened in surprise before he closed them and kissed her back. They broke apart when one of the men spoke up.

"Well damn, he tellin' the truth. Damn shame too, pretty thing too, coulda had som' fun with this one." The unnamed man kicked the tree trunk. "We better be gettin' back, ya know who the Gov hates to wait on us." The men turned and made their way back to the road just a mile from where they were.

Merle watched as Carol fought to keep her eyes open after her little display used up what little energy she had left. "Come on girl, just a lil' longer, when we get to the car, its only 'bout a half hour's drive." She tried to nod but her vision darkened and went black. "Shit." That was the last thing she heard.

A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN! Bahahahahaha don't kill me, the next chapter is one I've been itching to write for awhile. :) R&R and let me know! Much Love!


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I found an online website to correct my spelling mistakes so it should be better from here on out! I love the positive reviews I am getting. It makes my day when I read how much you guys love my story! I wanted to give out a special thanks to crystal2817 for reviewing every single one of my chapters and to Athlete Girl for helping my writing! Without further adu, here is chapter 7!

Chapter: 7

Carol's eyes slowly fluttered open and looked around her. She didn't know where she was and her head was killing her. She tried to sit up but she started to feel dizzy. "Whoa there suga, not so fast, ya have a concussion. Take 'er easy now." She quickly turned to the voice, but regretted it when it made the dizziness worse. As her vision returned to normal, she saw Merle Dixon standing in the doorway to the bedroom she was in.

"Merle? Is that really you?" Carol squinted her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things.

"In the flesh hunny." He chuckled at her expression. "Now, I got a few questions fer ya and I need ya to answer them truthfully ya hear." She hesitated before nodding her head. "Is my baby brotha still alive." At her nod, all the tension left his shoulders, until she spoke up.

"Last I knew he was anyway. Our camp was attacked by a bunch of walkers. That's how I got separated." She looked down at her clasped hands in her lap. She was very worried about her group. Her and Daryl may have had a fight and weren't speaking, but she still loved him very much.

"Shit. Well, I'll just have to check out yer camp in the mornin' then." He was turning around to walk out the door when her question caught him off guard.

"Why are you doing this Merle? Not that I ain't grateful but last I 'member you, you weren't exactly the nicest person."

"I gotta do right by my brother. I spent a lotta time thinkin' on that roof. I 'member back in Atlanta he had a real soft spot fer ya, always tryna to interfere with wha' yer husband did to ya. Where is that bastard anyway? An' din't ya have a lil' girl too?"

Carol heaved a shaky sigh. "The day they back to Atlanta to look for you, camp was attacked by a group of walkers, they got Ed. I put a pick axe through his head. We were on the move and came upon a massive grave. There were cars lining the highway and Dale's RV radiator hose busted so we stopped and started scavenging things from all the abandoned vehicles." She stopped to wipe away a stray tear. "All of a sudden Rick told us all to get under the vehicles. There was a herd of walkers, at least a hundred or so. We thought they had all passed and Sophia started to crawl out from under the car and there were two right there. She ran into the woods and Rick ran after her. He told her to hide and stay put while he lured them away from her. She was gone when we got back. Carl ended up shot and we all ended up on this farm for awhile. Your brother, he went out everyday lookin' for her, but it was too late. She had been bit and turned into a walker." Carol now had tears freely running down her face, making Merle very uncomfortable.

"Sorry to hear tha'." He looked anywhere but the crying woman on the bed. When her sniffling stopped, he spoke up again. "So is that where y'all been? Where is this farm so's I can look for my brotha."

Carol shook her head, "The farm was overrun several months back. We lost several people that night. Dale, Shane, some people from the farm who owned it, and Andrea." Carol swung her feet over the side of the bed and tried to stand up but lost her balance and fell back on the bed. "Dammit."

Merle was at her side and helping her up. "If y'all ain't at the farm then where were ya?"

Carol didn't know if she should let Merle know about the prison but was cut off by a knock on the door. They had made it to the living room so Merle helped her to the couch and went to answer the door. "Why ain't it the Governor, gracing us with his presence!"

The man at the door chuckled and entered the room. "My, my she is a vision isn't she Merle. You are one lucky fella. How did you manage to snag one such as this." For and instant Carol didn't know what the man was talking about, then she remembered what Merle had said to her in the woods. The man walked up to her and offered her his hand. She took it and smiled slightly. She got a weird vibe from him and didn't trust him. "Hello darlin' my name Phillip Blake, most folks around here call me Governor though. Welcome to Woodbury."

"Thank you and it's nice to meet you. Carol Dixon." She let go of his hand as soon as possible without looking suspicious.

"Merle here tells me you got separated in Atlanta about a year ago, how have you survived this long?" She caught the underlying in his question though, are there any more of you.

"Its been very hard, I was with the original group from Atlanta, I was not very happy with them for leavin' my poor husband up on a roof, but I had to take care of our daughter, and I knew I couldn't do that alone so I stayed with them until we were attacked by a herd of walkers. Our daughter was taken from me a couple weeks prior, so when we were attacked, I took off to fend for myself and been on my own since then."

"Well aren't you just the fighter. So there is no one from your group left alive then?" Carol shook her head no. A yawn escaped her lips before she could stop it. "Well, you look tired so I'll just leave you and your husband to get reacquainted." The governor made his way out the door and shut it. Merle sat on the couch and ran a hand over his tired face.

"Fuck! I'm glad you remembered wha' I told ya. He may seem like a nice guy but anytime we find women, well let's just say the last one we took from his room was in about 7 pieces. I know how Daryl feels about ya an' I coul'n't let tha' happen to ya. As long as ya don' leave this apartment, no one will mess with ya. You'll be safe in here. I'm gonna go tomorrow to check yer camp an' see if I can find my brotha'."

Carol couldn't do anything but nod. She knew she had to tell him where their camp was because she knew where Daryl had learned his tracking skills from and if she didn't tell him, he'd find it anyway. "We were at a prison. It was overrun when we got there but it took us about a day to clear it out." She sat there for a moment longer before trying to finish her trek to the bathroom. She was about halfway there when her legs gave out. With a yelp she waited for the ground to rush up and meet her when she felt a pair of arms grab her and save her from her fate.

"Dammit, I din't just save ya from those biters just to have ya hurt yerself tryna piss." He helped her to the bathroom and waited while she finished. He then helped her back to bed where she promptly fell asleep. Merle sighed as he looked at Carol. He hoped she was right and his brother was still alive. He would see in the morning though, he was definitely checking out the prison.

A/N: Well there you are! You know the drill! Much love!


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: So I know where I wanted this to go, it just took me a few days to figure out how to get there. I think I'm finally happy with this so here it is!

Chapter: 8

Daryl felt his heart stop the moment he found T-Dog's half mangled body crawling around the back corridors of the prison. He had watched as him and Carol had taken off into the nearest door to the prison, a group of walkers hot on their tails. He had hoped that they would be ok. He had grown to like T despite the fact at what he had done to his brother. He couldn't really fault the man for that, Merle had been high as a kite and he knew how volatile his older brother was. When he found T, he could only shake his head sadly and put his friend out of his misery. He drug him out to the courtyard, Glenn's words from the quarry echoing in his head, "We bury the ones we love." After they held a burial service for their fallen friend, he continued on looking for Carol. His guilt was eating him alive at how he had treated her the past week and now he knew he probably too late to apologize and make things right.

Their botched training session was always in the front of his mind, all he could think about. It had been his first time and he already had a hard time dealing with his feelings for Carol, with out tossing sex into the mix. He had enjoyed it immensely and as far as his limited interactions with women went, it was the best one yet. Things with Carol were always slow, it sometimes seemed she knew what he needed better than he knew himself. After he had stumbled out of the woods and Andrea's bullet grazed him in his head, it seemed she knew exactly what he needed to hear, and she said it with so much sincerity, he believed her. It took him months to come to terms with the fact that she actually cared for him, that she would never hurt him. Not like he always seemed to be hurting her. Always seemed he said the opposite of what she needed to hear, what he wanted her to hear. Telling her it had been her fault for losing Sophia had been one of his lowest points with her, he knew how much she loved her daughter, how much she did to protect her. At the quarry, Carol had always been covered in bruises, split lips, black eyes; but her daughter, Sophia, never had a mark on her. Carol had done everything in her power to make sure Ed never laid a hand on their daughter.

The other lowest point had been blowing her off after their love making session. Carol was the type of woman you made love to, not fucked. No matter how wild and passionate it had been, it was wild love making, never fucking. Never just sex. He had been scared and pushed her away, treated her coldly. And now, now he regretted ever treating her that way. She was probably gone now and he never had the chance to make things right. Tell her how he felt and it was eating him up inside. He shook himself from his thoughts as he heard the snarling of a walker around the corner. He readied his knife and stepped around the corner and his heart stopped. Lodged in the things head was Carol's knife. He let out and anguished cry and lunged at the thing. He repeatedly drove his knife into its head until it was just much on the ground. He sat back against the wall and held his head in his hands and tried not to cry.

After an immeasurable time on the ground, he angrily pushed off the wall and stood up. He stalked around the corner and Carol's scarf was on the ground. He plucked it off the ground and shoved it in his pocket. He stomped back to the cell block and straight into Rick. Rick was about to open his mouth and say something to him and he slammed his fist into the wall beside Rick's head. For his part, Rick didn't even flinch.

Rick put his hand on Daryl's shoulder, "I'm sorry brother, I wish we coulda found her. We're all gonna miss her somethin' fierce. She was a good woman." With that he left to tell the rest of the group Carol was a lost cause.

When Daryl entered the cellblock several minutes later, he looked around. Maggie had her head buried in Glenn's chest as sobs wracked her body, her fist clenched his shirt in a death grip. Beth sat curled up in her cell, tears silently leaking down her face as Hershel tried to comfort her. Lori sat with Carl on the steps, also crying, and Rick looked at his group, feeling like he had failed them all. As he completed his scan, he noticed the inmates they had left in the other cellblock standing in the corner.

"The hell they doin' here? I though' we told y'all to keep clear of here!" Daryl was angry and it boiled over at the sight of them standing there, invading their grief, they were outsiders, they didn't belong here! He watched as the one with the stupid ass mustache shifted awkwardly on his feet, looking anywhere but at the grieving people, as the other one, the larger one stared stoically at Daryl.

"Our cellblock was overrun when dumbass let the walkers in and turned on the alarm. We've got no where else to go."

"That's not out fuckin' problem." He turned to Rick. "You let them in! I thought we agreed we don' need them!"

"Daryl, you have to realize without Carol and T, we're a lot weaker now. We need the power."

Daryl was about to respond when Lori cried out, clutching her stomach. "Oh God! Rick!" Everyone was a flurry of activity as Lori doubled over in pain. "It's time!" Hershel hobbled to her and began shouting out instructions. They moved her to her cell that she had shared with Carol and wheeled in the stainless steel table they acquired when Rick was forced to cut off Hershel's leg. Rick helped Lori shimmy out of her clothes and put on a gown they found in the hospital when they cleared it out of the supplies left. Beth brought in the extra blankets and towels while Maggie gathered the necessary tools. Daryl stood off to the side and watched in stunned silence as they strapped Lori's legs in the air and made the cell ready for the birth of her and Rick's baby. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned. The inmate, Axel, was trying to get a good look into the cell. Daryl stormed over and grabbed a near by sheet and began rigging it up as a curtain. Rick turned to look at him and nodded gratefully when he saw the reason for it. Daryl looked at Axel and sneered, "You're sick ya know that?" With out waiting for a reply, he stormed off to his perch. Once there, his grief came back tenfold and he finally let the tears flow. Silent sobs shook his body as he listened to Lori as she gave birth. After several hours, there was a moment of tense silence then the wail of a baby. He could hear the collective exhale of the group below and was glad that at least the baby was ok. It was dark outside when he finally lost the battle and his eyelids slipped closed.

A/N: Tell me what you think! Much love!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I was feeling generous today so here is chapter 9! Two in one day woot woot, Love me:-). Lol.

Chapter: 9

It had been two months. Two months since they had buried T, since they had made a grave for Carol, since baby Judith had been born. She was a beautiful baby. Sandy hair and green eyes like her daddy. It was a miracle that she had turned out to be Rick's and not Shane's. Everyone seemed to let go of the figurative breath they were holding, especially Lori. She had a hard birth, totaling around 15 hours. She had started hemorrhaging, and they had lost her once, but Hershel was able to bring her back. She was now up and moving around finally, taking on some lighter chores. Daryl had been brooding and hardly talked to anyone. When asked a question, he usually gave a one worded answer, or a grunt.

Daryl sat in the watch tower deep in thought. He thought a lot about how things could have been so much different with Carol. He finally admitted to himself that he loved her even though it was too late. He missed her so much it physically hurt him. An ache settled deep in his chest and hurt more everyday. He couldn't stand to be around anyone much any more, choosing to take watch most of the time, or hunt. It was coming up on summer time and game was plentiful. He had brought back several bucks, a couple wild hogs, and many squirrels and rabbits. They made due with what they had, but everyone missed Carol. She was a fantastic cook and could make anything taste amazing, she also had a knack for getting blood out of clothes. As of late, it seemed they were in need of more and more clothes. They no longer had the skillful hands of Carol to stitch up their garments.

Daryl reached into his pocket and pulled out the scarf. It had become his lifeline to her and he came to rely on it to get him through the day. It reminded him of her so much, he just couldn't part with it. He had thrown a fit when he saw Maggie and Beth packing up Carol's stuff, so it now sat on his perch with his other possessions. But this scarf, this scarf was the remnants of the worst day of his life. It reminded him of how he had failed her again, failed after he couldn't bring Sophia home safely to her momma. It tore him up inside when he watched her stumble out of the barn. He balled the scarf up in his hand as the now familiar sting formed in his eyes.

Carol rinsed her mouth out yet again and sat back on the tiled floor of the bathroom. This was ridiculous! She had been sick for several weeks now and couldn't figure out what was wrong with her. Merle had insisted she go see the doctor they had but she refused. Merle. He was so different than what she remembered, he had changed a lot. He was still very rough around the edges, cursed like a sailor, and had a mean temper, but he was also softer somehow, almost nice. He treated her very well and she didn't know why, it still confused her but she went along with it anyway. She opened the cabinet below the sink and froze. No! How could she be so stupid. She quickly did the math on her fingers and slumped. Oh God no! She now knew what was wrong with her and she almost begged for the flu.

She stood up and flew out of the bathroom and into Merle's broad chest. "Whoa there! Who set yer britches on fire there?" His chuckle died in his throat when he saw her eyes well up with unshed tears. "Hey I only meant it as a joke, no need to go turnin' on the water works." He held his hands up in surrender.

"I'm pregnant!" She didn't mean to say it out loud, it just came up like word vomit. Merle stood stock straight as the news sank in.

"But I ain't never touched ya!" He began to panic, had one of the boys snuck up and had their way with her? His fist clenched at his side at the thought. He had come to like the little firecracker and grown very protective of her. He had saw her more of the little sister he never had. The more he was around her the more he started to care for her. They still kept up the pretense that she was his wife, only to protect her. He knew she was safe as long as she was with him. He had remembered her from the quarry, Mouse is what he used to call her, remembered her abusive husband and quit daughter. He was sorry to hear about her daughter but could only smirk when he learned about her husband. He couldn't count how many times he had to stop Daryl from intervening and knew instantly that he had a thing for the woman. So when he had found her in the woods, half out of it, he felt a strong need to protect her.

He had tried going to the prison to see if they were still there but all he could see were clumsy walkers, wandering aimlessly around. He sighed in irritation at being so close, yet so far away. He had told Carol the news and watched as her shoulders slumped in defeat. That had been two months ago. Now, she stood in front of bawling her eyes out. He had no idea how to comfort her and stood there awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. She hesitantly patted her on the back, "There, there." She seemed to calm down a little and seated herself on the couch, drawing her knees up to her chin and staring blankly ahead.

He sighed again and kneeled in front of her needing answers. "So, er- a, whose the father." She seemed to snap out of it and her eyes narrowed. Had it been any lesser man, they would have cowered in fear at the look on her face.

"Congraga-fuckin-lations, you're gonna be a fuckin' uncle." She spit out the sentence harshly.

"Wha-," Merle didn't finish his thought as the reality of the situation slammed into him, knocking him on his ass. Way to go little brother, took ya to the end o' the world, but ya finally got some snatch! "You mean to tell me, tha's my brotha's kid in there?" He gestured to her stomach from the floor. When she pointedly looked away he knew it was true. He let out a whooping laugh, even when she turned to glare at him once more.

"You're more excited than your brother would be, wants nothin' to do with me. Guess its a good thing I'm gone then, prolly don't even miss me." Her voice started cracking towards the end. She missed Daryl. A lot. He had become so much apart of her it was ridiculous. He was always there when she needed something and knew when she needed her space. She glanced over Merle's way and had to giggle at the shit eating grin on his face. She was glad one Dixon was happy about this situation, she didn't want to burden Daryl with a baby when he didn't even want her. The sting of their conversation was still there even two months later. He had hurt her, bad. She knew he would pull away, but she thought they would eventually go back to the way they were, easy going. Instead, he blew her off like she was dirt on the bottom of his shoe. She knew he was a good man, and she wasn't his type, but she had so much hope. Zen, he would call it.

She placed a protective hand on her stomach and sighed. No matter what, she would do right by her baby, she owed it that much. She would be strong and lay down her life if she needed to. Merle's gruff voice broke her from her thoughts. "So baby brotha finally put it to ya, huh?"

"You're so crude!" He chuckled.

"Well, I gotta do a run today to a nearby town, need anythin'?"

"Ya, a test, just to make sure." He nodded and stood up.

"I should be back in jus' a few hours." With those parting words, he was out the door, locking it behind him.

It was now nightfall and although she hated to admit it, she was getting worried about Merle. She had grown fond of him these past couple of months and it was well past the time he should've been back. She had been pacing back and forth in the small kitchen when shots sounded outside. She walked quickly to the windows but all she could see was smoke. She backed up until the backs of her knees hit the couch and she sank into it. She was scared, but she didn't know what she should be scared of, walkers, or the living. She sat until the last shot rang out and the silence stretched. She jumped off the couch when the door was kicked in. Her blood ran cold when the Governor walked in with a man on each side of him. His wicked smile made her shiver in fear. She took an unconscious step away when he spoke.

"Well, it seems you traitorous husband has betrayed me. But don't worry sweetheart, I got something special for you." She turned to run, where, she didn't know, but the beefy men had a hold of each of her arms, dragging her down the hall. One of the men tied a blind fold on her and fastened her hands behind her back. She struggled, but it was futile, they were entirely too strong. She stumbled along until she could hear a dull roar. She was walking until one of the hands yanked her to a rough stop and took off her blind fold. She looked around, she was in some kind of arena with people surrounding her. In the middle of the arena stood 6 walkers bound by chains. She gasped in horror when she realized that in the middle of those walkers stood Merle and a bound Daryl.

"No!" She hadn't meant to speak it out loud, but the offending word slipped out anyway, that damn word vomit again. Both Dixon brothers' head whipped around and zeroed in on her. She saw a flash of relief on Daryl's face, soon replaced by terror.

She watched as Daryl paced like a nervous animal and the Governor droned on and on about terrorist and something else. Suddenly Merle swung his metal attachment and landed a painful blow to Daryl's stomach, he doubled over and fell to the ground. From there, Merle used his contraption to choke his brother. Carol struggled against the binds and her captors. Tears flowed freely down her face as she watched the brothers struggle on the ground. Then, it was so sudden she would've missed had she not been paying attention, she saw Merle's lips move as he uttered something to Daryl. Then, gracefully, too graceful for men of their size, they jumped up and moved back to back. They began taking out walkers, as sudden shot sounded around them and the Governor's me started dropping like flies. The two holding Carol each took a bullet to the head and she was able to wiggle her hands free. She picked up one of the fallen guns and a knife and made her way to the Dixon brothers.

When she reached them, before she had said a word, Merle scooped her up and began running. She was stunned into silence and watched a plethora of emotions play across Daryl's face as he ran behind them. Someone jumped out from behind a bush and was almost shot when Daryl realized it was Rick and Glenn. Rick motioned for them to follow him and lead them to a break in the fence. They slipped through and ran a ways through the woods. When they no longer heard the shouting of Woodbury, Merle finally set Carol on her feet.

He began checking her for any type of wounds before he even realized what he was doing. Had it been any other situation, Carol would be in a fit of laughter at the looks on everyone's face. Except Daryl, he looked like he was about to pass out and was white as a ghost. There was a click and Carol started when she saw there was a gun pointed at Merle's head.

"Step away from her." Daryl looked ready to maim Merle. Carol took a step forward to say something, but Merle put a hand up to stop her.

"Alright lil' brotha. No need to get yer panties ina twist." He was shoved out of the way as a pissed off Carol got in Daryl's face.

"You get that God damned gun outta your brother's face." When Daryl just narrowed his eyes at her, she shifted and held her chin up defiantly. "Daryl Dixon, did you not hear what I said? Get that thing out of your brother's face, he's not the enemy here, if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead by now." She took Merle's good hand and stormed passed the bewildered hunter. Rick and Glenn quickly caught up to her and led her to their hidden vehicle. Glenn and Rick took the front while Carol sat sandwiched in between the Dixon brothers. Daryl glared at Merle over her head and Merle simply smirked and pulled a face at him. It was silent the entire way to the prison. As the building loomed in distance, Carol's stomach knotted up with worry, how was she going to tell Daryl he was going to be a dad?

A/N: Bahahahahaha! I didn't know where to end this chapter and it's probably my longest yet but this seemed like a good cliffy spot to do so. R&R please. Much love!


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Well I know its been a few days! Sorry! Where have all my faithful reviewers gone? So sad to not be getting any reviews anymore, very discouraged about finishing this now...

Chapter: 10

As they pulled up to the gates, Maggie quickly unlocked them and let them in before closing the gate behind them. Rick parked the car and turned in his seat to look at Merle. "I 'spect you be on your best behavior, 'specially after what happened today with Glenn and Maggie. I'll leave it to the group to decide what to do with you." Carol looked at Merle before looking back at Glenn seeing his face puffy and bruised, she didn't know how she could have missed it before. She looked back at Merle and he simply shrugged his shoulders. She scoffed and waited until everyone else exited the vehicle before she slid out. As Carol got out, she seemed invisible as everyone began shouting over Merle. She took this time to study the group she hadn't seen in months.

Rick looked just as haggard and worn out as the night they left the farm, dark circles covering the bags under his eyes; the man could really use a good sleep. Carl stood next to his dad, hand at the ready on the pistol hanging from his side, looking far older than his actual age. Beth stood slightly behind Hershal, who looked on at the scene with a rage filled look. Maggie looked a little worse for wear but looked like she was trying to calm down an enraged Glenn who was gesturing wildly between his face, Maggie, and Merle. Lori stood at the entrance of the prison, a small bundle in her arms held protectively against her chest. Off to the side, the two inmates, Axel and Oscar, stood silently observing the whole thing unfold before them. Daryl was covered in grime and looked a cross between relieved and ready to spit nails. Merle, well, he was always glad to cause trouble and had a shit eating grin on his face. As if feeling her gaze on him, he turned to her and winked. The small gesture hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, and several members turned to see who he was looking at. It got silent as everyone turned to look at Carol. She swore most looked like they had seen a ghost.

Beth was the first one to recover. The blonde girl sprinted out from behind her daddy and locked Carol in a vice grip. Carol smiled into Beth's neck and rubbed her back. "We thought you were dead." Carol felt the wetness of Beth's tears and felt herself welling up. She pulled back to smile gently at the young woman before she was pushed aside and Carol found herself being passed around in tight hugs from the group. She finally got to Lori and the woman still hadn't moved. She stepped cautiously to her and smiled tentively at her.

"May I?" Lori nodded mutely and gently passed her the small bundle in her arms to Carol. Carol looked down at the infant in her arms and smiled through her tears. "Name?" She looked at Lori waiting for an answer.

Lori stuttered for a moment before she found her voice. "Um Judith, Judith Carol." She finished softly finally smiling at Carol. Carol felt her throat close with emotion as Lori's words sunk in. She looked down at her namesake and ran a finger down her chubby cheek tenderly. "Carol, you are such a miracle right now." Lori carefully hugged her, mindful of the baby between them. She pulled back and took the offered baby back. Lori smiled at Carol one last time and excused herself to find some privacy to feed Judith.

Carol turned back to the group who had started arguing again. She stepped lightly to hear what was being said.

".. loose canon.."

"..only cares about himself.."

".. needs to go.."

At the last comment Carol cleared her throat trying to gain the attention of the angry people before her. When that didn't work she huffed, "HEY!" She was faced with several bewildered people. She had bucked up a little before Woodbury, but living with Merle for a few months, well she learned a few things, and the people before her were used to meek, submissive Carol. "Are you people really going to just throw him to the wolves?" She was now very angry. This man had saved her life and saved her from many horrors. She heard the screams and pleas of some of the unfortunate women that the men happened upon, and it made her physically sick thinking about it. Merle was very rough, foul mouthed, and mean tempered, but he was loyal. Loyal to his brother, and for some strange reason it seemed, to her. He made sure she had been taken care of very well and that no one messed with her. She had grown fond of the eldest Dixon and returned his loyalty. She was of course loyal to the people around her, she had been with them through thick and thin, but Merle, he could've left her for dead, or even worse, but chose to keep her safe.

Between the two Dixon brothers, they had done more for her than almost anyone in her entire miserable life. It made her queasy thinking of anything happening to either of them, dare she say it? She loved them both, each of course a different type of love. She came to the realization she was in love with Daryl while she merely loved Merle like an older brother. "He is not going any where!" She then turned to Rick, "I know you said this was not a democracy anymore Rick, and I've gone along with all you plans and I'm putting my foot down now. Merle is NOT going anywhere!" She felt childish as she ended her rant by stomping her foot. She was near 30 for God's sake. Everyone just stared at her. She crossed her arms in front of her like a petulant child.

Everyone started when a booming laugh echoed off the walls of the prison yard. Merle stood double over, good hand on one knee while his metal covered stumped was pressed into his stomach as he laughed openly. Carol cracked a smile and soon found herself giggling uncontrollably. She looked at the remaining members of the group, Rick, Carl, Daryl, T, Glenn, and Maggie, the rest had wandered inside after saying hello to Carol. They all looked between the pair with guarded expressions. Soon Maggie had joined in and was cracking up.

"What the fuck! Are ya all high 'er somin? Shit." Daryl was very confused. They were in the middle of deciding about what to do with his brother and Carol just let them have it and ended her tirade like a five year old. She stomped and everything! She was a grown ass woman for fuck's sake, she shouldn't be acting like that. He looked at Rick and saw barely contained amusement. The three's laughter was contagious though and he didn't hold out long. Soon everyone but Daryl was doubled over laughing their asses off. Finally Daryl cracked a smile but it didn't get further than that.

Carol wiped a stray tear from her eye and took a deep breath trying to get serious again. It felt good to laugh though, it had been too long since she had a good laugh like though, even before the world went to shit. She eyed Daryl and wondered about her predicament. She absently placed a hand to her still flat belly and rubbed it. When she realized what she was doing, she yanked her hand back and placed both in her jean pockets.

Rick rubbed the back of his neck avoiding looking at Carol. "How bout we sleep on it tonight and decide tomorrow." Everyone but Carol, Merle, and Daryl dispersed. Carol was glowering at the ground, Merle was rocking back and forth on his heels, and Daryl was glaring at his brother.

"The fuck is goin' on 'tween y'all?" Daryl knew he sounded jealous but he didn't care. This would just be one more thing his brother had taken from him, and probably wouldn't be the last.

Merle chuckled before he replied. "What little brotha, jealous that I got this hot piece of tail here? From what I hear ya already fucked up yer chances." Carol felt the heat rush to her cheeks and pointedly looked away, trying to avoid the angry glare shot her way from Daryl.

"Why ya tellin' him anythin' Carol, ain't his damned business!" Daryl had strode towards her and had her roughly by the arms, forcing her to look at him. "Why ya gotta make a big damn deal about it? Huh! It was one fuckin' time." He was so angry and humiliated that he didn't realize that he had Carol scared out of her wits until he was yanked back and Merle's fist connected to his jaw. The surprise attack landed him on his ass on the floor. He looked up through the haze and saw that Carol was shaking like a leaf, trying to keep frightened tears away. She had her arms crossed over her stomach like she was trying to hold herself together. Merle had his good hand on her shoulder and was talking in a low voice to her. He watched the exchange puzzled. What the hell had happened in the time she was gone? He saw her nod a couple of times and gave Merle a weak smile before she turned her gaze on him.

His vision of her was blocked as Merle loomed over him and crouched down. Merle got in his face and spoke in a deadly whisper, "Ya ever put yer hands on her like tha' again lil brotha, an' all my otha ass beatin's gon' seem like nothin'. Ya hear me boy?" Daryl could do nothing but nod his head. "Now, I's just teasin' bout before, ain't nothin' 'tween us. Kept her safe 's all. Fer yer dumb ass. Now, I know I ain't always done right by ya, but I'm tryin' now. I know ya always had a thing fer her and she told me some things. Ya better fix things with her lil brotha I'm tellin' ya now. Now ya know I can count on my one good hand how many people I e'er liked. She one of 'em. Don't fuck this up again." With that Merle stood back up and nodded to Carol before he made his way back to the prison.

Carol cautiously made her way to Daryl, who was still on the ground rubbing his jaw softly. She knew Daryl would never hurt her but after Woodbury, and her marriage to Ed, some habits die hard. He was so angry. She knelt down next to him and without a word she pushed his hand away and gently ran her finger tips across his already bruising jaw. She wanted to apologize but she kept her mouth firmly closed. She should tell him now, he deserved to know, but she didn't even know for sure herself, Merle had never returned with the test. She took her fingers off his face and stood up and offered him a hand. He snorted and stood up by himself. She shrugged and turned without a word to walk back into the prison. Daryl shook his head and followed after.

A/N: So there it is, in my fanfictions, this is the furthest I've ever gotten. Double digits! I wanna see lots of reviews!


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Ok since so many of you reviewed I decided to post this ASAP. Much love!

Chapter: 11

That night Carol curled up on the lumpy thin prison issued mattress and attempted to fall asleep. Her mind was plagued with thoughts and she couldn't quiet her frantic mind. She looked around the bare cell, Lori had finally moved back in with Rick after finding out he was really the father, and all Carol's stuff was gone. She assumed that when they thought she was dead, they got rid of it. She had wondered when the next run was going to be, she really did need to find out for sure, then decide what she wanted to do about it. The silence in the cell block was broken by the small wailing sounds of baby Judith. She heard Lori shuffle around a bit then the crying quieted to be replace by suckling sounds.

Carol rolled over and drew her knees to her chest. She thought they had lost the prison when the walkers were let in, it turns out the one inmate who escaped had let them in for revenge on the group. The morning Merle came, they hadn't had time to clear out the walkers so it looked like they had left. It took them several days, but they had the place secured again and someone on watch 24/7. She rubbed her hands on her arms trying to fight off the perpetual chill of the dank building. All she had for warmth were the clothes on her back and a thin sheet she found. Sighing, she knew she wasn't going to get any sleep tonight so she gingerly sat up and padded barefoot down the long rows of cells to the stairs.

Her bare feet slapped the cold concrete floor as she made her way closer to the steps. She was almost there when a grunt sounded from the perch near the stairs. She frowned in confusion when a whimper followed the grunt. Slowing her steps, she tip toes to the origin of the noises. She peeked around the make shift curtain. A hand came to her mouth as she watched Daryl thrash about on his makeshift bed. He was covered in sweat and his lip was bleeding. She quietly made her way closer and made sure the sheet was closed behind her. Dodging flailing limbs, she crept closer to the distraught man. When she was above his head, she sat down and hesitantly touched her cool hand to his slick forehead.

Upon contact, he immediately stilled, his body tense. She gently picked his head up and scooted closer so she could set it in her lap. Hesitantly at first, she began softly running her fingers through his hair and whispered calming words. His body gradually began relaxing and his breathing became even again. Carol leaned back against the hard wall and continued stoking his hair in a soothing rhythm, lulling herself to sleep.

When Daryl woke, the first thing he noticed was he had his arms wrapped around something soft and warm. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked up. He had managed to roll to his stomach and had his head in someone's lap with his arms wrapped around their waist. He slowly unwound his arms and sat up. Carol. She was up against the wall, head bent at an awkward angle as she snoozed softly. Daryl was confused, why was she here, and why was his head in her lap? He leaned over and gently shook her shoulder.

"Hey girl wake up. Gonna hurt yerself layin' like that." He watched as her blue eyes opened and she yawned. She looked around for a moment and said nothing. Then her eyes finally landed back on him. She gave him a small tentive smile. "The hell ya doin' here?"

"Um, well, I couldn't sleep last night and I was gonna go for a walk and heard you havin' a nightmare. So I came in to make sure you were ok." He grunted and stood up. She watched him for a moment before speaking again. "I need to go into town, I need to get some things since mine are all gone."

"I got yer stuff so ya ain't goin' no where." He walked over and pulled the sheet off the large box in the corner. She slowly got up and opened it. It held all the stuff she had began accumulating since the farm. Her clothes, blankets, coat, extra shoes, and a few trinkets. She still needed to go to town to get a test though, she'd just have to talk to Rick and see what she could do. Before she could lift the box, Daryl already had it in his arm and was taking it to her cell. She followed after and when he set it down, she thanked him and made her way down to the kitchen.

When she entered she was met with the smiling face of Lori. "You know Carol, everyone was dying for your cookin' while you were gone, I'm terrible at it, Beth is ok, and Maggie is usually on runs, on watch, or with Glenn, I think everyone will be very thankful this morning." She laughed along with Lori and the two of them set to making breakfast, with Carol taking the lead. They had gathered a lot of food and kitchen ware while she had been gone and got the old wooden stove going. She grinned as she finished mixing the powdered eggs. Together, they carried the food out to the tables along with plates and silverware. When the group began trickling in, they grinned broadly at the food before them. Carol had really out done herself. Their breakfast consisted of deer jerky, courtesy of Daryl, powdered eggs, and apples fried in cinnamon and sugar.

Everyone greedily dug in and thanked Carol profusely. She laughed as she watched Carl actually lick his plate clean where the apples had sat. She shook her head and looked around, Merle and Daryl were no where to be found. She sighed and made them both a plate, putting them to the side. She put a few apples and some eggs on her plate and sat next to Glenn and Maggie. Maggie immediately hugged her, "Oh my gosh Carol, ya don't realize how much we missed yer cookin'! Now I love Lori to death don' get me wrong, but woman cannot cook!" Everyone laughed and Lori merely shrugged her shoulder before she joined in.

As the laughing subsided, she turned her attention to Rick. "When's the next run to town? I need a few things."

"Um, I think Glenn and Maggie were headed out after breakfast, why don't you make a list and have them pick it up." Rick knew now that Carol was back, Daryl wasn't letting her go far. He was pretty tore up about her while they thought she was dead, he never said anything, but what little progress they had made since leaving that quarry had pretty much been undone. Besides, Daryl would have Rick's ass if Carol went, and he was pretty sure Merle would too.

"But there are a few personal things I need." Carol pleaded. She didn't want anyone to know until she was sure. They would kick up a fuss otherwise and Daryl would most likely find out before she was ready to tell him. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his curly hair.

"I tell ya what, you get Daryl and Merle to agree and you can go." He had to hold in a chuckle as she scowled at him darkly and her shoulder fell in defeat. She stood up pulling Maggie with her.

"Need to talk to you." She mumbled and went into a deserted corridor. "Ok, you haveta promise you won't say anything, even to Glenn." At her nod she went on. "I need.. Oh God, I need a pregnancy test." She spit it out quickly and looked to the floor.

"What?! Carol oh my God! Who-" She was abruptly cut off as Carol all but tackled her to the ground and pushed her hands against Maggie's mouth to stop her further questioning.

"Shhhhh! Maggie it don't matter right now. Can you just get it for me?"

"Yeah, of course. Damn! It's not Merle is it?" Carol scowled at her and shook her head. Before they could go on, Glenn came around the corner, saving Carol from any further embarrassment.

"You 'bout ready? I wanna get a move on and get back before sundown and it's about an hours drive from here, not taking in time to get through geeks if there are any." Maggie nodded before she gave Carol a smile and followed Glenn to the cars. Carol shook her head and headed back to her cell to put her stuff away. It was going to be a long day, she could tell already.

A/N: This was mostly just a filler chapter to set up for the next one.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter: 12

Daryl had gone out hunting after placing Carol's things in her cell. He had wanted to get away for a while to think clearly. Carol was back! She was back and she wasn't dead, a walker, or harmed from what he could see. What worried him was how close her and Merle seemed to be. He knew his brother had been telling the truth about nothing going on between them while they had been in Woodbury, but Daryl had a lifetime of experiences with his brother taking something he wanted. He was grateful for him protecting Carol and everything, he just kind of wished his brother wasn't so attached to her. He looked down at the ground to make sure he was still on the right path and froze when he heard a twig snap a little further up. He raised his bow and stalked forward.

It was nearly mid afternoon when everyone gathered again. Carol sat at one of the tables twisting her fingers and fidgeting. Maggie and Glenn had just gotten back a few minutes ago and Daryl was walking in with his brother in tow. They were going to discuss what to do with Merle now that everyone was here.

Rick cleared his throat after everyone was settled. "Alright, so we need to decide what to do with Merle. We're going to cast a vote and majority wins. Now we'll go in a circle-" He was cut off by Oscar, who stood at the door two figures behind him.

"Um, I found these two wondering around outside the fence. Thought you might like to talk to them. This ones been injured and this is the only weapon they had between them." He pushed one forward and laid a rather large sword on the table. The injured one lowered her hood and looked at them with steely eyes, guarded. She moved slightly placing herself between them and the other hooded figure, almost protectively.

"Oh my God! Rick? Carol? Oh it is you!" Everyone sat puzzled until the other hooded figure pulled back her hair to reveal Andrea. Carol gasped in surprise and bolted for the woman. She locked her arms around her in a death grip and began sobbing. Andrea returned the embrace with just as much ferocity and rubbed her back soothingly.

Carol began mumbling incoherently," Sorry.. Tried to go back.. thought we lost you.. Saw a walker take you down.." Andrea make soothing shushing noises and continued rubbing her back.

"Carol, I don't blame you, not one bit. I'm just glad your safe." She looked at the rest of them and gave them a smile. "I'm glad your all safe." She looked around again and her face lit up when it landed on Lori. "Oh my! Lori! I'm so glad everything turned out ok. But, where's Shane? T-Dog?" At Rick's small head shake, she bristled a little and untangled herself from Carol, giving her friend one last smile before tuning to the dark woman standing behind her. "Guys, this is Michonne. After the farm got overrun, I found the gun bag and ran into the woods. I ran for hours and killed so many walkers it was ridiculous! I eventually ran out of bullets and energy. I had the last two on my ass when I took one out and the other got me to the ground. It almost had me when Michonne showed up and saved my ass. We traveled together all winter and I guess I was pretty sick for most of it. Eventually I got over it and we ran into some men a few miles from here. We killed two but one shot Michonne before a small herd found us and he took off. We fought some and ran for it and ended up here."

Rick nodded and turned to Michonne. "We have a doctor here if you'd like, I'm sure he'd be happy to take a look at that for ya." The mysterious woman simply nodded and followed Beth as she led her to Hershal. Rick turned back to the group and sighed tiredly. "Alright guys, we'll have to do this later." With that, everyone wandered off to finish up their chores for the day. Carol motioned to Maggie and met up with her in the corridor from the morning. She quickly took the small package from her and scurried off to help Daryl clean the large wild hog he found on his hunt.

Merle let out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding. He stood there for a moment before deciding to go help his brother. He walked the halls of the prison thinking to himself and hoping they decided to let him stay. He knew he had been out of line in Atlanta, hell he was high as a kite and coming down. He sat on that roof and did a lot of thinking. He though about life before the world went to shit and how he had been a worthless piece of shit and never did anything good with his life. Hell he couldn't even protect his brother from their bastard father. That man had been Satan incarnate. Merle thought back as far as he could, and never had a good memory of him. All he could remember was the beating, the whippings, burnings, you name it, it happened to him. Courtesy of his own fucking father. When he was old enough, around 18 or so, he finally got up the courage to leave. Daryl had been around 10 or so. He thought maybe if Merle was gone, his father would've left his baby brother alone.

He exhaled harshly as he rounded the last corned and opened the door to the yard. He had a whole life time of hurt to make up for with his brother and he just didn't know where to start. His brother didn't trust him one bit and Merle supposed it was a good thing, he had never given a reason for him to do so. All their life, if Daryl had something that made him happy, Merle had to take it away. As the saying goes, 'misery loves company'. He hated himself for it. When he left he should've taken Daryl with him, but he was so damn selfish, he hadn't wanted a whiney little kid to take care of. It was all about Merle and he was changing that. He squinted through the sunlight and finally found his brother.

Daryl had set up a cleaning station in a remote corner in the prison yard for his kills. Usually either him or Carol cleaned them and sliced them up for their meals and prepared the rest for jerky so the meat didn't spoil. Fuck, how he missed the simple things of the old life. What he wouldn't do for a fridge or a freezer right now. Carol had just been down, but upon getting close to the hog, she promptly excused herself and ran back to the prison. He simply shook his head and told himself he'd talk to Carol later and have her seen by Hershal. They still hadn't had a proper conversation about what happened. He knew he needed to apologize, she was too sweet, too good to be treated the way he treated her. He heard soft foot falls approaching and turned to find his brother walking towards him

"Got an extra knife?" Instead of answering him, he pulled out and extra knife from a compartment in the table and handed it to his brother. They worked in silence on getting the beast ready to eat.

Carol made it around the building before throwing up. After she heaved herself dry, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and removed the test from the back of her pants. Her hands shook as the test slipped out of the box and into her hand. She took the cap off and looked to make sure no one was around before unbuttoning her pants and sliding them down before popping a squat. When she was done, she replaced the cap on it and laid it down on the grass and looked away. She sat there for a few minutes, too scared to look at the results of the test. She worried her lip between her teeth and lifted the test to read it.

A/M: Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha! Cliffie! Review my pretties and an update you shalt have soon. Much love :-)


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell, since you guys asked so nicely...

Chapter: 13

Carol gasped and let the test fall to the ground. She was in shock right now, and wasn't sure how to feel. She stood up and leaned up against the wall behind her. She lifted up her shirt to reveal he flat stomach. Her fingers ghosted over her skin and rested just below her navel. There was life growing in there. A part of Daryl was inside her. She smiled as tears poured down her face. She was happy, but at the same time, she was beyond terrified. She knew Daryl needed to know, she just didn't know how to tell him, or how he would react. He had told her what they did was a mistake. Would he think this baby was a mistake? She knew he had the right to know he fathered a child, but she couldn't bring herself to tell him, she didn't want to see the hate in his eyes, the disappointment.

She quickly wiped her face and smoothed her clothes before making her way inside. Carol knew she needed to at least let Rick know what was going on, so she made a bee line straight for their leader. "Rick, can I talk to you for a moment?" He looked at her for a moment before walking to a secluded corner.

"Come to yell at me again?" He asked her warily.

"Look I'm sorry 'bout that ok? But I have something I really need to tell you. I'm pregnant." She finally spit out after several moments of silence. He just stared at her for a moment before his face became hard.

"It's Merle's ain't it. Good for nothin' bastard." He was shut down by Carol shaking her head no. "Did something, er-. Did something happen at Woodbury, one of the men, did they-?"

"Oh God no. Um, well, Daryl, he and I a couple months ago, we were training and well yeah." She finished lamely. She couldn't stand the intensity of Rick's gaze and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at what she had confessed to him so she looked away. She spotted Daryl and Merle standing in the door way in which she just came, staring at her and Rick. Daryl looked suspicious, while Merle looked at her with a slight smirk. She turned back to Rick when he cleared his throat.

"Well, does he know about your, condition?" At her head shake he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You need to tell him, he's gonna be pissed if you leave him in the dark, then that's all on you. When he found T and your scarf, Carol, I swear a part of him died too. You guys need to get this figured out, it'd be a helluva lot easier on everyone else if you did. It's almost like you guys can't function without each other." Carol nodded numbly before walking back to her cell.

She forgot how much being pregnant took it out of you, even at just three months. She laid down on her bed and before long, she was fast asleep.

Merle had watched Carol talking with Officer Friendly and wondered what is was about. After him and Daryl had dropped the meat off in the kitchen, Daryl muttered something about watch duty and took off. He rocked back on the heels of his feet before platering a grin on his face. He sauntered over to Rick, "So, what you an' lil' miss talkin' bout officer?"

"That's really none of your business Merle." Rick eyed him wearily. Carol may trust him for some odd reason, but all he knew was the Merle from Atlanta.

"Ah now, no need ta be lookin' at ol' Merle that way! No hard feelin's. Scout's honour. Now, yer lil' talk wi' Carol di'n't have anythin' to do with her bein' sick an' what not right?" At Rick's glare he knew he'd hit the jackpot. He grinned gleefuly before going on. "Now, I done knew about this the day we got the hell outta dodge, know tha's my kin growin' in there. Now my brotha has jus' got his head up his ass an' we gots to do somethin' about that. Now, what are ya prepared to do abou' this?" Rick eyed Merle again before simply shrugging his shoulders. "Come on, gotta do better 'an that!" Before their conversation could go any further, there was a scream from one of the hallways that lead to the showers.

Merle, Rick, and Glenn, the only ones still in the cafeteria, took off towards the sound. They rounded a corner and stopped in their tracks. Axel, the creepier of the two prisoners, had Beth up against the wall with her shirt torn and lip bleeding. At the sound of their foot steps, he quickly pulled Beth in front of him and pulled a gun from his pants and put it to her temple.

"Now jus' go on and back up, an' nohtin' gon' happen to this girl." Rick fixed Axel with a hard glare. "Go on now!" Axel's hand moved from her waist to her throat and squeezed a little bit and tears were already streaming down the girl's face and she let a whimper escape.

"Fine, shit ain't got nothin' to do with me any how." At Rick's and Glenn's incredulous looks, Merle simply shrugged his shoulders and left. He hurried down the hall, hearing Glenn cuss him the entire time, he didn't care, he knew what he was doing. He rounded a couple more corners before slowing down and switching to hunter's mode. He stalked silently down the dank halls and rounded one last corner to see his target. Glenn and Rick both opened their mouths when they saw him and he had to put a finger to his mouth to shut them up. Axel was ranting on and on about how Beth was his, she wanted him, just couldn't tell anyone and blah, blah, blah. Merle scoffed silently and advanced on the fool. He raised his metal stump and thumped him on the head. He quickly caught Beth before she could be taken down, and the girl began screaming hysterically. Before he knew what he was doing, he had removed his own shirt and was trying to put it on the distraught girl.

Seemingly, when she realized the trouble was over, and Merle had finally got the shirt on her, she latched onto him and cried. Glenn and Rick had cuffed the unconcious Axel and was dragging him back to the cell block. Leaving Merle with Beth. Really? Those fuckers should've taken her with them, not left her with him! Damn! How does he always get stuck in there stupid fucking hero situations. So he did the only thing he knew how to do to comfort someone. He patter her back awkwardly and mumble gruffly, "There, there." He began herding her to the cell block so he could pass her off to someone else. When they finally arrived, it was a flurry of activity. Hershel was being restrained by Daryl, Maggie by Glenn, Carol was now where to be seen, Rick had Axel cuffed to a table, and Lori was standing off to the side holding Lil' Asskicker while Carl was on watch. Merle manuvered through everyone to get to Hershel and tapped the man on the shoulder, when he finally got his attention, he shoved Beth in his arms and stalked away from everything. He found his feet had carried him to Carol's cell and she was just starting to wake up.

"Well goo' mornin' sleepy!" He chuckled at the expression on her face. "So I take it ol' short round got ya what ya needed." He watched her grimace.

"Don't call him that, Glenn's very nice, and Maggie did yes. Like I said before, congratulations Uncle Merle." Neither one had noticed that Daryl had stepped into the cell.

"What?!" Daryl felt the air leave his lungs. Carol turned to look at him with wide eyes. Merle merely smirked, clapped Daryl on the shoulder and walked out. "What do you mean 'Uncle Merle'?"

Tears sprang to Carol's eyes. "You're gonna be a daddy." It was so soft but Daryl heard it perfectly.

A/N: Well there you are, little baby Dixon! And now Daryl knows too. Review, review, review! Much Love!


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: God I love you guys! You make me so happy with your reviews! And I apologize, I completely forgot I brought back Andrea and Michonne! Well, they'll be in this chapter.

Chapter: 14

Daryl stood there gaping like a fish, mouth opening and closing without a sound. He knew he looked like a damned retard, but the words wouldn't come out. He didn't even know what words he wanted to come out. Carol worried her bottom lip between her teeth and looked anywhere but him. He was having a hard time coming to grips with what he had just heard. Dad. Him. He's going to be a fucking father! Fucking shit! Finally Carol's gaze landed on him and he still hadn't formed a coherent sentence in his head. He simply shook his head as if to clear and bolted from the cell.

As she watched his retreating back, Carol's shoulders shook violently from her sobs. She wrapped her arms around herself, as if holding herself together. She don't know how long she sat like that, but eventually Andrea wandered in and pulled Carol to her and just held her as she cried, never talking, asking a question, just held her. Eyelids heavy, Carol drifted off to sleep again and Andrea gently laid her down on the bed.

Andrea tip toed out of the cell and down to the main floor. She had been walking around getting used to the place while Michonne had her leg worked on. It had been a calm morning until the whole thing with Beth and Axel happened. After making sure everything was ok, she was looking for Carol to talk to her friend, when she found her. It broke Andrea's heart to see her friend in so much pain and her expression hardened. She was going to find out who did this to sweet Carol, and there was going to be some hell to pay. She studied everyone closely. Nothing seemed amiss. Except Merle. He looked too happy. Like he just caught the canary. She marched over to him.

"The fuck did you do to her mother fucker." She poked Merle in the chest to get his attention.

"The hell you talkin' 'bout Blondie?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Carol! I just watched her cry herself to sleep! I know you had somethin' to do with it. Now spit it out!"

"Was Daryl up there?" At the shake of her head, he let out a string of cursed and stomped out to the yard, an angry blonde hot on his heals. He stopped out in the sunlight and looked around. He spotted he brother knifing walker after walker through the fence. He stormed over to him and yanked on the back of his collar causing Daryl to fall to the ground on his back. Merle commenced to beating his ass.

Andrea watched in shock as the brothers rolled around on the ground trading blows. Finally, Merle had Daryl against the fence, his stump across Daryl chest holding him there.

"I told ya, ya lil' shit head, ya needed to fix this with her." His finger jabbed in Daryl's bloody face, then at Andrea. "Then I got Blondie here tellin' me she just saw Carol in a fit o' tears up in 'er room. Ya lil' fuck! Ya keep this up and yer gonna have 'er runnin' off. I'm not tellin' ya again, fix it. Pull yer shit togetha, yer 'bout to be a God damned daddy fer Christ's sake!" Andrea gasped as the pieces fit themselves together in her head. If Daryl already hadn't just had a nice whoopin' from his brother, she would've done it.

Merle turned to the side to spit some blood out of his mouth and used the back of his hand to wipe the excess off before tuning back to his brother. He could hear the others coming and knew there would be all kinds of questions. "Now!" He let Daryl off the fence and grabbed him by the back of his collar back to the prison, ignoring everyone as they passed. He could hear Blondie talking, but didn't care what she said. He drug his brother through the prison with one goal in his mind.

When they got to Carol's cell, she was shoving stuff into a duffle bag with fury. She didn't hear them and they simply watched her for a moment. Her face was red and puffy and she had tear tracks down her cheeks. As they watched her pack, they could see she was trying not to cry again.

"Where the fuck ya think yer goin' lil' miss?" At the sound of Merle's voice she whirled around and gasped at the sight of them. They were both covered in cuts, blood, and already forming bruises. Merle raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

She had her eyes down cast when she finally answered. "I'm leavin'. I have no reason to stay anymore, you don't need me here." Sniffling, she raised a hand to wipe her face.

Daryl couldn't believe his ears! He had just got her back and now she was trying to leave again! His angered bubbled to the surface again and he had to trample it down before he made the whole thing worse. Merle had let him go finally and her could see the wheels in his brother's head turning. Not giving Merle a chance to speak Daryl stepped up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Carol, ya can't go anywhere woman. Not in yer condition." She ignored him and continued stuffing stuff into her bag. He could feel the panic replacing the anger in him and he was searching desperately for the right thing to say. When words failed him, he settled on actions. Not caring if his brother was in the room, he grabbed her hips and spun her around, before she had a chance to speak, he crushed his lips to hers. She tried fighting him for a moment before giving in and tangled her slim fingers in his hair. He pulled her closer and tried to convey all he wanted to say to her into the kiss. When they had to come up for air, they separated their lips but kept their foreheads touching.

"Ya can't go anywhere, I jus' got ya back." He knew he sounded like a pussy, he knew his brother was probably still in the room and would make fun of him later, he just didn't give a shit. He had to make sure she understood. "I need ya, more 'an ya know. I don't do the talkin' thing very well, I'm no good with words, an' tha's the best I got. Please don' make me beg." His voice cracked at the end. "Let me take care of ya. Let me take care of the baby. Our baby. I'm sorry. Shit ya don' even know. I'm so fuckin' sorry. I din't mean what I said. I don' regret it, not one bit." He looked at her and used his thumbs to clear away her tears. "I din't mean to run, it's jus' I'm fuckin' scared. I can't be no ones daddy!"

"Shhhhh, It'll be ok. We can get through this, you just can't leave me, Daryl, I can't do this alone." He pulled her in for another kiss.

"Yer stuck with me woman, like it 'r not, I'm here to stay. I'm a rude, dirty mouthed, stubborn ass, redneck, but I'm all yers." She giggled a little through her tears and he pulled her to his chest in a tight embrace. He looked over his head to where his brother was, and found the spot empty.

Outside the cell, Merle cracked a smile and shook his head. Crazy ass kids. He was genuinely happy for his brother. He was glad that the two of them got a second chance.

The End.

A/N: LOL JK! Don't kill me. It's just the end of that chapter. Lend me your reviews! LOL. Oh and just for shits and giggles, can anyone tell me what show or movie the line "There, there" is from?


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter: 15

The following month was a flurry of activity as Carol, Merle, Andrea, and Michonne were integrated into the daily chores, watches, and runs with the group. Carol could feel her frustration grow as she was limited to laundry and cooking by her two 'guard dogs' as everyone had deemed them. She and Daryl had hardly touched, let alone spoke since he had found out about her pregnancy, and her hormones were out of control. She had wanted the man pretty badly before, now it seemed to her she was walking around like a cat in heat. She had purposely begun snagging tight, low cut jeans and shirts out of the piles brought back from the runs along with lacy, skimpy under garments in hopes of drawing him to her. It seemed to have the opposite effect and she was now snapping at everyone who came within two feet of her, causing everyone to give her a wide berth.

After dinner that night, she grabbed her shower things and headed off in that direction. Usually Daryl or Merle would walk with her and stand guard outside the door, but she had bit their heads earlier in the kitchen when they began play fighting and knocked spaghetti sauce all over the floor. They scampered from the kitchen with their tails between their legs and had been avoiding her ever since. She huffed in annoyance at the memory and pulled the shower door open with more force than necessary. She picked a head furthest from the door and piled her things on the bench beside it. She tugged off her shirt and folded it next to her 'clean' pile, before following suit with the rest of her garments.

She stood there for a moment before running her hands over her small, barely there bump. She guessed she was around four months along. She sat on the floor and thought about her predicament, she was happy to be given a second chance at a mother and had vowed to herself that she would try harder this time. Then her thoughts shifted to Daryl and the time they had spent together before things got all fucked up. They had become quit close in the few months after leaving the farm, and she missed his company terribly. The memory of them in the woods popped unbidden into her mind and she felt herself flush with want. The way he had filled her and touched her had her aching. She ghosted her finger tips over her budded nipples and exhaled sharply. It had been too long and she was very frustrated sexually. One hand stayed on her nipples and pinched, and twisted while the other traveled to her aroused nub.

She ran a finger from her wet core through her lips and gently circled her swollen bud. Tingles ran throughout her entire body and she picked up the pace. Soon she was panting and wound tight, experimenting, she slipped a finger into herself and moved it in and out. She could feel pressure building and added another finger. She mewled in pleasure and bucked against her hands as they worked her body. Her eyes were screwed shut as she pictured Daryl that day in the woods. The moment his face flooded her mind, his name passed through her lips in a whisper and the flood gates opened. She arched off the wall and slid to the floor while panting, moaning, and writhing as ecstasy shook her body. She heard someone talking and realized she was panting Daryl's name again and again as she rode out her orgasm on the shower floor. She rubbed her hands on her body trying to cool off before they went limp at her sides.

She was still panting on the floor with her eyes closed when she heard a sound. Her eyes snapped open and looked around wildly trying to find the source. She scuttled up against the wall and squinted her eyes trying to look around the dim area. After a moment, satisfied there was nothing there, she shook her head and stood up finally turning on the shower. She stepped into the cool water and faced the shower head letting it cool down her overheated body. She had been under for no more that a few seconds when she felt hands grasp her hips and spin her around. She gasped in surprise and was about to scream when a mouth covered hers and she felt a tongue invade her mouth.

She was looking in a pair of clear blue eyes she would recognize anywhere. Daryl. She sighed into his mouth when she knew she was in no danger, and threaded her fingers into his shaggy hair. It took her a moment to feel his hard body pressed against her with no barriers. She felt his hardened member pressed against her the bottom of her stomach, and in an effort to get closer, hitched a leg on his hip. She was rewarded by him grabbing her other leg and hoisting her up. Daryl now had her back against the shower wall and was nipping at her neck and shoulder while she gasped and moaned in pleasure. She bucked against him, and his shaft rubbed up and down in her slit and sent jolts of pleasure through her body. She had just finished herself but this was far more rewarding and intense so she bucked again. He hissed in her ear as she assaulted the juncture where his neck met his shoulder.

He pulled his head back and captured her mouth again while deftly lowering his hips and entering her with gusto. Before she could help herself, Carol groaned loudly, "Oh God yes. Fuck!" In the entire time Daryl had known Carol, this was probably the first time he'd heard her use foul language. And it was fucking hot! He placed his hands on her hips and drove deep into her causing them both to moan loudly. Their breathing picked up as his pace became frenzied and frantic. Carol felt the pressure building up again, this time so much more intense, and it burst like a rocket and she dug her finger nails into his shoulder as she clenched around him. Mewling pants she breathed into his ear drove him over the edge and he soon followed her a few hard thrusts later.

He slowly sunk down to the floor, holding Carol in his lap, still inside her. Daryl watched as she laid her head back against the wall and her chest rose and fell with her frantic breaths as she tried to gain control of her body again. He grabbed her by the nape of her neck and brought her forward for another kiss. Pulling back, he looked her in the eye, "I'm sorry." He knew she knew what he meant and didn't need to elaborate.

Carol knew Daryl was freaked about this baby and how hard it was for him to talk about things far out of his control, she just wished she knew how to make it better. She gave him a small smile before replying. "I know. I know how hard this is for you, but we're in this together remember? We can be scared together." He nodded not saying anything and pulled out of her and stood up offering her a hand. When she was finally standing, he was staring at her stomach.

"Go ahead, there's not much to feel right now, he's still pretty small, and you can't feel him kick on the outside yet, but soon."

Daryl nodded and hesitantly place his calloused hand on her bare stomach. He looked to her again and she smiled encouragingly at him before he looked back down. Suddenly, he dropped to his knees in front of her. He placed a hand on her hips and brought her forward, gently peppering her stomach in small kisses. He looked up at her again and she was looking at him with the most brilliant smile and tears trailing down her cheeks. "Hey there lil' one," he began softly, and a little bit awkwardly, "I'm yer daddy. I jus' wanna tell ya right now, I'm here to take care of ya and yer momma from now on." He placed one more small kiss on her belly before standing up.

"I gotta tell ya woman, that show you put on before yer show, fuck if I didn't almost cum with ya just watchin' ya." He smacked her bare ass and wriggled his eyebrows. She gaped at him before he took off and scooped up his clothes, throwing them on haphazardly and running out the door, but not before turning around and grinning at her one last time.

Carol huffed and stomped her foot. "Pervert!" But she couldn't stop the grin as it spread across her face and she got dressed and took off after him.

A/N: Yay! Major smut and some cuteness!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: So I had a lot of fun writing that last chapter and loved the reviews I got for it. I had to redo it several times to get it flowing the way I wanted. And, as requested by Athlete Girl here is a little Meth action! This chapter I promise, will have a lot more of everyone else. LOL. R&R!

Chapter: 16

Carol panted as she chased after Daryl. She could barely hear his light footsteps as he sprinted through the dark hallways towards a destination she didn't know. She was so concentrated on breathing, she didn't notice his steps had stopped, as she rounded a corner, she ran into a very firm chest. He wrapped his arms around her to steady her before she toppled over. Carol could feel his chest vibrate with his laughter and she smacked him on the arm.

"Ugh! Daryl! You are such a pervert you know that?" He just grinned in response.

"Ya can call me whate'er ya want, ya put on anotha show like tha'." He grabbed her wrist when she went to try to whack him again. "Uh- uh woman, once is enough." Carol dissolved into a fit of giggles again as he led her back to her cell. He placed a sweet kiss her forehead and mumbled good night.

The morning dawned bright and early for Beth and she stretched languidly on her cot, ready to start the day. She stripped off her bed clothes and slipped into a pair of jeans and a cut up t-shirt before pulling on her cow boy boots. She ran a brush through her long blonde hair and pulled it into two pig tails, satisfied, she left her cell to start breakfast. She had taken over most of the cooking when they thought they had lost Carol and she was getting better at it. She arrived to an empty kitchen and pulled out the stuff to start. Parting Glass slipped into her mind and out through her lips and she softly sang as she mixed everything up and started cooking.

It had been about a month since Axel had attacked her and was executed, and she still felt slightly uneasy. The mornings were the only time she had any time for herself and although she appreciated the gesture, she was becoming highly annoyed and wished everyone would back off, for God's sake, Axel was dead. She heard light foot steps and figured Carol was up and headed this way to help finish up. Beth was facing the stove when the door opened and she greeted the intruder.

"Good morning! You can have a seat if ya want, I got everything almost ready." She still hadn't turned around and jumped when a gruff, masculine voice answered.

"Goo' mornin' to ya to girlie. Yer awful chipper at this early ass hour." He held in a chuckle as he watched her place a small hand on her chest, as if to keep her heart from beating out of her chest.

"Shit Merle! I thought you was Carol!" Merle arched an eyebrow at her and waited a second before replying.

"Damn, ya kiss yer daddy with that mouth suga?"

She fixed him with a glare and turned back to the stove to make sure she didn't burn breakfast. She turned around and found Merle just standing there an odd expression on his face. "Didn't your momma tell ya it's not nice to stare? If your just gonna stand there, at least make yourself useful and grab the plates and forks." Beth was surprised when he actually did what she said. It had been established that Rick was going to give him a chance, just one, so they could call it even for him leaving Merle on the roof in Atlanta, but Merle had to be on his best behavior. He had done well so far, he still liked to ruffle everyone's feathers, particularly Lori and Glenn, but he didn't really seem to stick around when Beth ventured into the room. She just figured he was feeling awkward after he had saved her from Axel and she had cried into his chest. His firm, broad, del- she stopped herself.

Merle had caught her attention since he arrived at the prison, with his rugged looks, hard, muscled body, and rough, gravely voice that sent tremors to her core. Everyone had seen him as a loose canon that had tried to kill Glenn, and let Maggie almost get raped, but if you sit back and think about it, she would've done the same to get back to Maggie, and she was sure it went for the rest of the group and their families. About a week ago, she had accidently walked in on him getting undressed, ready to shower, and saw how his whole backside was littered with scars and it brought tears to her eyes. She knew what they were from, she had seen similar scars on Daryl after he had to be patched up after falling off Nelly. She shook her head when she realized she was staring at the man in question, and he just stood there, holding her gaze unwaveringly. She blinked a few times and felt a blush creep up her neck and cover her cheeks. She whirled around and mumbled something about going to wake her daddy before she fled the kitchen.

Merle sat there puzzled as hell at the girl who just ran from the kitchen. She had been staring at him for about five minutes and he was starting to get uncomfortable. She was a small girl, only came up to about his shoulders, and had delicate features, and large blue eyes. She was very attractive, and very much out of his league. He was just a washed up old ex-drug addict. He grabbed the plates and forks off the counter and put them in their proper place before grabbing the food and doing the same.

He waited until his brother and Carol had showed up before getting his food. He stopped and looked at the two. Carol was flushed and grinning, something he hadn't seen since they got here, and his brother had a smirk on his face, this only meant one thing.

"Well, well little brotha, finally get some again?" He could see Daryl's cheeks tinged the slightest shade pink before he gave him the finger and started putting food on his plate while Carol's grin got even bigger if that was possible.

"Good God! It's about time. Jesus, Carol, no offence, but I was about to go find you a vibrator or something." Andrea laughed at the looks everyone was giving her. "What? You all were thinkin' it, I just said it out loud."

"She's right, I know I've been a real pain in the butt this past couple weeks and I apologize, I've been a little frustrated."

"Ya sexually." Maggie muttered but everyone heard her. Carol blushed bright red, but didn't comment.

"Oh God, I remember when I was pregnant with Carl, I couldn't keep my hands off Rick." Lori had a dream far away look on her face and Carl made a gagging sound somewhere behind her. That got everyone laughing.

Merle watched the banter within the group, this family, and he felt his gut clench. Growing up, he never had a family, just him and Daryl. And Don. Their supposed 'daddy'. No daddy was ever supposed to lay their hands on their kids the way Don did. Merle lost count of the times he had taken off his studded belt and beat Merle til he passed out, the times he had used him as an ashtray and snuffed his cigarettes on his bare chest, and carved into him like a Thanksgiving turkey. Merle rubbed his chest absently as the memories flooded his mind. He had finally got the strength and will to leave, hoping that he would've left Daryl alone. Fuck hopes, they got you now where. He had seen that when he had seen Daryl's scars, different from his own, more vicious and crude. It was like with Merle gone, Daryl got punished for it, for Merle's choice.

He had left him to that bastard and now he had been given a chance to redeem himself in his brother's eyes. Her name was Carol. When he had first saw her at the quarry with her scrawny daughter and abusive ape like husband, he mentally scoffed, more like a fucking slave driver, he had hated her, thought of her as weak. He watched as Ed always sat on his fat ass while Carol ran herself ragged making sure he had everything he needed and then some. He had watched one day from the cover of the woods as she accidently dropped one of his shirts in the dirt and the man, if you could even call him that, back handed her. When she fell to the ground, he watched as the monster's foot connected with her ribs several times before he spat on her, called her a few names, and walked away. During the whole tirade, his brother had shown up and fought against Merle to try and save her. He had witnessed this several times, and hated the woman even more each time, til one day, he saw her in a new light.

Her little girl, Sophia, if her remembered correctly, was running to their tent to grab something and knocked over Ed's cup on his pack of cigarettes. He remembered the rage he felt as he saw Ed lift his hand to hit the slip of a girl until he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. Carol ran to her daughter and pushed her out of the way and Ed's fist connected with Carol's eye. She told Sophia to go find that Grime's kid, Carl, as Ed took his outrage out on her mother. He had a newfound respect for the woman from that day and decided that maybe she wasn't all that bad. That had been a few days before Atlanta. He could start to see maybe what his little brother saw in her though Daryl never admitted it, he knew his brother and knew he had a thing for the woman. When he had found her in the woods, he knew his luck was changing around and he vowed to make it up to his brother for leaving him behind with Don, especially finding out that his brother had slept with her and she was pregnant with his child. Merle's niece or nephew. That was one he was still getting used to.

He was proud of Daryl and how he had made something of himself, even if it took to the end of the world, he now had a place, a family now and Merle was jealous at how easy he interacted with everyone. How everyone got along, no abuse, no yelling, well, occasional yelling, but not in hatred. He hated how everyone seemed to avoid him, never giving him a chance. He knew he was an asshole, especially when he was high, but he had been sober since Atlanta, he was sarcastic and foul mouthed, but so was his brother. From what he heard from Carol, Daryl hadn't really been given a chance until he almost died looking for Sophia. He thought maybe they would start to loosed up around him after he had saved Beth, but it seemed to make everyone more tense.

He was brought back to reality when Beth had asked him if he was done. Damn, he had retreated into his mind longer that he thought. He looked around and saw that it was now only him and Beth in the eating area, and everyone had already left to start their daily chores. He handed Beth his plate with his half eaten food on it, ready to get up when she put a hand on his shoulder to hold him in place.

"You best be finishing this Merle Dixon. I don't stand for wasted food." Beth gave him a stern look. He nodded mutely and shoved the now cold eggs into his mouth. Fuck! He didn't know what it was about this girl, but he found himself obeying whatever she said with out comment. He still gave Carol lip when she told him to do something and he considered her like a sister. When he put the last fork full into his mouth he found himself looking to Beth for her approval. She smile brightly and took his offered plate and placed a small hand on his shoulder. "Thank you!" She removed her hand and skipped to the kitchen and fuck it his shoulder didn't tingle where she touched him. He shoved himself from the table and stormed into his cell to grab his newly acquired gun and knife. He needed to kill something before he let his thoughts about a certain blonde get away again, and he found himself in a compromising position.

A/N: So I kind of had a hard time writing this with trying to keep Merle being Merle but with this new kind of kindness with out making him into a pussy and getting away from his original character too much so definitely let me know what you think! R&R please! Much love!


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Now, don't get too mad at me, here is the long awaited chapter 17! I need my reviews people, i can't thrive without them!

Chapter: 17

It had been a week since the shower incident, and Daryl was still having doubts, but he didn't let Carol know. He stuck close to her, only leaving when he hunted and had watch, but in his absence, Merle was there. It was a weird concept, his brother being so protective over Carol, he still didn't trust him all the way, but Carol seemed to and that was all he needed for right now. Right now, he and Merle were shakily rebuilding their relationship and he was beginning to trust his older brother.

Daryl let a stream of curse words out under his breath when he nicked his thumb for the third time. Carol had been wearing him out with her seemingly insatiable sex drive, but he was not complaining, it was wonderful, he just wished he could concentrate on skinning these squirrels for a few minutes without cutting himself. When he finally finished, his fingers were covered in small cuts, he shook his head and scooped the meat into the large pot he had sitting next to his feet. He heard a sound behind him and thought it was Merle.

"Can ya tell Carol this meat is finally fuckin' ready?" When he didn't receive an answer, he turned around and was greeted with the rotted face of a walker. "Shit!" He stumbled back a few steps before he gained his footing and lunged at the thing, burying his knife to the hilt as black blood oozed out of its skull. He yanked his knife free and tried calming his breathing. He was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard screams. He whirled around to see Beth running from a group of about 7 walkers. She had Judith clutched in her arms and tears of terror running down her face. "Fuck!" He watched in slow motion as one came from the side and grabbed her shirt sleeve. She shrieked and struggled to get free while clutching a wailing Judith.

There was a blur and the walker slumped to the ground. Carol grabbed Beth's upper arm and the pair sprinted to the nearest available 'safe' space, which happened to be a car. Daryl watched as hundreds of walkers poured in from a massive hole in the fence. He picked up his crossbow as he watched Carol throw the car in drive and sped out of the herd and through the now open gate that one of their group had smartly opened. "Sumbitch!" He shot a walker in the eye socket with and arrow before shouldering his crossbow and pulling out his pistol. He was glad Carol got out of there safe with Beth and Judith but he was worried about her at the same time. Eventually, the group had dispersed among the the remaining vehicles and drove away, the prison was too far gone this time. The remaining group members pulled over on the side of the road to reassess the situation.

Daryl swung his leg over the bike and walked up to the group. Maggie clutched Glenn's shirt as she rambled incoherently about Beth and Glenn rubbed her back. Rick had his eyes downcast and Carl stood behind him next to Hershel. Merle, Andrea, and Michonne had their heads together in a whispered conversation. Daryl looked away up onto the long stretch of road and saw no sign of Carol, Beth, or the car they sped off in. He hung his head and fought the unfamiliar sting behind his eyes.

A/N: Bum bum bummmmmmmmmmmmmm, Sorry its soooooooooooooo short, but I promise the next one will be much longer! R&R! Maybe, if I get enough reviews, I might be prompted to post the next chapter sooner ;)


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter: 18

The weeks had flown by since the prison had been overrun and there had not been hide nor hair of Carol, Beth, or Judith. They had circled back to all meaningful areas to them and nothing. Daryl and Merle had been so irritable, that they no longer even talked. Anyone who had enough balls to talk to them had usually revieved a snarl or growl in reply. Rick had tried to keep the group morale up, but they were back to how they were last fall and winter, except this time, they weren't battling the cold. Just starvartion and dehydration.

Daryl was out in the lead as they drove mindlessly around Georgia trying to find somewhere to settle down once again. They were just driving when suddenly Daryl slammed on his brakes, shut off the bike, and jumped off it to run to an overturned vehicle. "Daryl, what the hell?"

Daryl didn't answer Maggie as he scoped out the car. "Wait a min- That's our other car! Do you see Beth?" Maggie's eyes grew wide as she watched the hunter look in the car. She watched as he pickup something out of the shattered glass and debris. It was the baby blanket Judith had the day they were overrun again. Daryl's rage bubbled out like a volcano and he started kicking the car.

"Stupid fuckin' sumbitches! Cock suckin' God damned stupid fuckin'- Shit!" Merle had come up and grabbed Daryl's shoulder.

"Calm yer ass baby brotha! Now them girls need ya ta git yer shit toetha so's we can find 'em. Ya ain't no good ta no one with yer head all clouded an' shit. Now we need ta look an' see if they lef' any tracks, see if we can track 'em." Daryl squinted at his brother for a minute before he nodded his head. The two Dixon brothers scouted out the area and quickly picked up their trail.

"Looks like Beth an' Carol made it out of the wreck ok, probably Lil' Asskicker too. We need ta fin' sum place to setup camp fer a few days so's me an' Merle can follow their trail." Rick nodded and looked started walking around to see if there were any houses to bunk up in for a few days, maybe a week if they were unlucky and didn't find anything with Carol or Beth. About half a mile into the thick brush, Rick spotted a white house.

"Alright guys, looks like there's a house up there, we should check it out and bunk there for a few days see if y'all can find anything." Everyone nodded and loaded back into their respective vehicles.

They found the road that lead to the house and parked a fair ways away. "Alright, so me, Daryl, and Michonne will go in while Andrea, Merle, and Glenn check around and Lori, Carl, Hershel, and Maggie can stay here and keep a look out." They silently seperated and set to work securing the house. Daryl silently made his way onto the porch and checked the door, it was unlocked. He looked to Rick and Michonne and nodded indicating he was going to open the door. Daryl pushed the door opened and cringed as it creaked. He walked in, crossbow at the ready and halted in his steps as he came face to face with another crossbow. He heard Rick and Michonne come in behind him but he was looking into the face of a young girl. She had long dark hair that was pulled into a bun, her carmel colored skin was dirty and she had a look of grim determination on her face.

"Alright, we don' mean no harm, we just need a place to stay fer a coupla days." Rick held his hands up and tried talking to the girl. A growl sounded behind him and whipped around expecting to see a walker but there was a huge dog baring its teeth at them.

"Xena, sit." The dog looked at the newcomers one more time before going to stand by the girl. "You got any women with ya?"

"Yes, but its by their own will." She seemed to think about it for a moment.

"How 'bout children?"

"I got my son, my daughter's missin'. Her along with Daryl's pregnant wife and anther girl."

"I see. And how do I know-" She was cut off as the sound of foot steps came up behind her.

"Momma? Whose that?" A little boy, about the age of five or six stoop rubbing his eyes. The dog, Xena, she went to stand next the little boy. Rick knew the dog was big, but standing next to the boy, they stood at the same height.

"Damn, what kinda dog is that?" The woman seemed to think about it before answering.

"She's half Husky, half Bull Mastiff." She turned to the boy." Honey, go take Xena and go into the bedroom, momma'll be in, in a minute." She waited until the boy was out of sight before adressing them. "As you see, I have my son with me. Now I ain't got trust in many people anymore, you send your women in and after I talk to them, I'll think about lettin' you stay."

"Alright, my name's Rick by the way and this is Daryl and that's Michonne, and we got Hershel, his daughter Maggie, my wife Lori, our son Carl, Daryl's brother Merle, and another, Andrea." The mysterious girl nodded. She still had her crossbow trained on them and Rick started to back out the door. Daryl squinted at the girl. He seemed to be thinking it over for a minute. Rick clapped a hand on his shoulder urging the other man to come on.

The unnamed woman finally lowered her crossbow and eyed Michonne, she didn't say anything until Maggie cautiously made her way in. The woman gestured them into the room where the little boy went.

"They hurt you?" Maggie, Andrea, Lori, and Michonne stood there before one of them finally answered.

"Nah, Rick's good people. He came to my daddy's farm and helped us. We been through a lot. Right now my sister, Lori and Rick's baby, and Daryl's pregant wife's missin'. Daryl and his brother, Merle, they good trackers and the car tha' Carol and Bethie were in is crashed on the highway up yonder. So what's yer name anyway?"

"Chaunta, and that's my son Tatum and that is my baby girl Xena. Alright, go ahead and tell your people they can stay, any sign of trouble and I'm puttin a arrow through your eyes." Maggie and Andrea burst out laughing.

"I'm sorry, you just sounded a lot like Daryl when you said that. I thought he was the only one that did the crossbow thing." Andrea seemed to sober up a second later. "Thank you for lettin' us stay." Chaunta nodded.

"I need all your people in here so I can introduce them to Xena. She's the sweetest dog, but she needs to know you, otherwise her protective instinct comes out." Maggie nodded.

After they had brought in their stuff and was introduced to Xena, the group sat around the living room as they discussed what they were going to throw together for dinner.

"Well, all we have right now are a few boxes of powdered eggs, spagetthi sauce, and some pasta noodles."

"When was the last time y'all had a decent meal?" The rumbling stomachs was the answer to Chaunta's question. "Tatum, run to the freezer and grab a bag out. I'll be right back." The group looked at each other in confusioun. Chaunta came back first with two small charcol grills, a large pot, and a large skillet, and a jug of water. She had the grills set up and lit with the pot and the saucer filled with water on each. Tatum came back in with a freezer bag and handed it to his mom.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hershel looked like he had died and gone to heaven.

"What daddy? What is it?"

"Frozen hamburger." Chaunta replied without looking up. She pulled out a pocket knife, flipped it open, and sliced the bag open and dropped the meat into the skillet. "When I got here the place was empty, no walking dead or nothin'. I looked around and found a generator. Luckily I didn't have to do anything, I'm not mechanically inclined, and the only thing we turn on is the deep freeze. My ex was a real country boy, taught me how to hunt and clean animals. There's some cows, pigs, and chickens in the back. There's a whole butchers block in the shed out back along with a hand crank meat grinder. So, voila, we have hamburger."

That night for the first time in a long time, things were begining to get optomistic. Rick and Daryl sat up on watch as the others caught up on their sleep. With their full bellies, it didn't take long for anyone to fall asleep.

A/N: Ok so here was a longer chapter, hope you guys liked it!


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